Without Warning
by Racy Nucleoli
Summary: A terrible illness leaves Trunks trapped in a coma, right after he tells Vegeta he hates him. But when something sinister seems to take control of his son, can Vegeta save him from their worst enemy...himself? FINALLY FINISHED!
1. Prologue: Feeling Nervous?

A/N: Hello, people!!! I'm back! Okay, fine! So I wasn't really gone, I confess XD! Things just got away from me over the Christmas Holidays and I didn't get the chance to post this story when I said I would. I hope no one's mad at me!

Lol, okay I need a bit of help now. This story was originally around 11 chapters long. However, looking over 'My Son' and reading the reviews I got, I decided to merge a few chapters together so that the chapters were longer but now I'm not so sure. So, it's up to you guys. Would you prefer a longer story with shorter chapters, or a shorter story with longer chapters? Either way, the story stays the same. It just depends on how much you like to read in one sitting.

Guess that's all. This is just a prologue that was originally the first chapter until I decided it was too short. Enjoy!

* * *

Without Warning

Feeling Nervous?

Trunks woke up with a feeling of utter dread at the day planned. It was time for the Spring Exams, which would determine which classes he would be put in at the beginning of the school year in September.

He got up slowly, yawning and glancing at the alarm clock. It read 7:02am. Shuffling towards the bathroom, he pulled his dressing gown off of the door handle and proceeded to take a shower.

* * *

Trunks came back into the room almost 20 minutes later, towelling his lavender hair dry and spraying small drops of water across his carpet. He crept over to his dresser and went to pull open the bottom drawer to retrieve a pair of jeans. Much to his surprise, it wouldn't come loose.

_That's odd, _he thought. It wasn't that the drawer was stuck, Trunks just felt physically weak. He felt like his arms weren't strong enough to pull it open. It was a strange sensation, considering he was one of the strongest people on the planet.

Finally, after much panting and straining, he got it open, gasping in shock as it came out and he fell backwards. _It must be nerves. Stupid exams, _Trunks cursed in his head. As he sat back on the floor, his black jeans next to him, he felt quite dizzy and realised he had a bit of a headache and sore throat.

_That's what I get for exerting too much energy before breakfast, _he thought, smirking to himself. He picked up his jeans, pulled out a white t-shirt and began to get dressed as the dizziness started to fade.

* * *

"Nice of you to join us, Trunks," said Bulma, sarcastically, as her 14-year-old son strolled into the kitchen. She tipped out a pancake onto a plate from the frying pan she was holding and handed it to the lavender-haired boy.

"Thanks, Mom," Trunks said, nodding appreciatively. She just smiled and he took a seat next to his father who was sat at the table, drinking black coffee. "Morning, Dad," Trunks greeted the Saiyan Prince, warily.

"Boy," Vegeta nodded to his son, sneering. Trunks gulped. He was feeling more and more disliked by his father lately.

"You haven't got any more revision to do after school now, have you?" asked Vegeta, suddenly breaking the silence.

"No, not anymore," Trunks replied, tucking in eagerly.

"Good," Vegeta smirked inwardly at his son's appetite. "Then you'll train with me when you return."

"Okay!" Trunks was thrilled. _Awesome! _was all he could think. _Dad's asked me to train with him! _It wasn't often Prince Vegeta requested that his _lowly_ son train with him.

"Oh, damn! I forgot about Bra! She's probably up by now and causing trouble, if I know her," Bulma shook her head, fondly thinking of her four-year-old daughter. "I'll go and get her sorted. Honestly, I'm just not with it this morning..." she continued babbling to herself as she flew out of the room.

Smiling at his mother's forgetfulness and reaching for the little pot of sugar just in front of him, Trunks felt that dizziness again. It hit harder this time. His vision was distorted and he couldn't tell which way was up or down. He swayed gently, trying to keep from crashing to the table.

He stretched his arm out further and tried to grab the sugar pot. His hand reached it but, as his fingers tried to close around it, Trunks could only feel his own skin as his fingers met. _But the sugar's right there, _he thought in frustration.

Vegeta glanced at his son. _What the hell is he doing? _Vegeta thought, watching his antics. His son was clearly trying to grab the sugar, but he was way off. The sugar pot was a good foot away from the air Trunks was trying to grasp. He stared, beginning to feel unwelcome concern as Trunks closed his eyes and shook his head madly.

Pushing the sugar pot to him, Vegeta said, snidely, "Over here, son." Trunks seemed to snap out of it and he took the sugar pot from his father, cheeks reddening as he realised his father had probably just seen all of that.

As he quickly demolished the last of his pancake, the doorbell rang, which meant Goten was here. Trunks ran out of the room, shouting his goodbyes to his family down the hallway.

Thinking back to what had happened moments before, Vegeta almost laughed. _He must be feeling nervous, _Vegeta decided, taking a swig out of his coffee cup.

* * *

A/N: Bit of a slow start there, but it does improve (I think! XD). Hope that wasn't too bad or too short. Damn it! What is with me and this site?! I like a story I write until I put it up here, then I think it's rubbish! I dunno...maybe I'm just frightened of you guys??? =/ XD Lol speak later, people!

-x-


	2. Chapter 1: Harsh Words

A/N: Hello, people! I'm back with another update! I have the whole story finished so I might as well go ahead and post a chapter a day. This was originally two separate chapters but I merged them together at the suggestion of my friend Kaylee. Thank you, my friend ^-^!!! This chapter is over 2,000 words long so hope it satisfies all your fanfiction appetites XD! Okay, on with the next chapter!

Disclaimer: Oops...I forgot to do this last time XD! I am a fail =/ Lol I don't own DBZ.

Harsh Words

"So, exam day! Kami, why do they do this to us?" Goten cried out as they walked to school. Trunks laughed at his best friend. If anyone hated tests more than him, it was definitely Goten.

"Look on the bright side, at least it's just for this week," Trunks reasoned.

"Yeah, sure," Goten said, nodding his head in agreement.

"So, guess what?" Goten smiled.

"What?" Trunks was already apprehensive. It was never usually a good thing when Goten said 'guess what'.

"Aw, don't be like that, man. This time, it won't get us into trouble," Goten promised.

"That's a relief. You remember what happened last time? You know, with the cat, the old lady AND the bucket of pee..." Trunks teased, smiling at the memory.

"Whoa, hold up! Don't remind me!" he shuddered, half-playing, half-serious. " Nah, seriously, man. I got asked out by a girl!" Goten exclaimed, happily.

Trunks looked up at the ominous front building of West City Secondary School as it loomed into sight. He visibly gulped. _I hate exams, _he thought bitterly.

"Huh? Yo, Trunks? Did you catch any of what I said?" Goten looked irritated.

"Sorry, man. What did you say?" Trunks said, guiltily.

"I said I got asked out by a girl!" Goten was immediately cheered up again by his news.

"Well, that's a relief," Trunks said, smiling. "I'd be worried if you were asked out by a guy!"

"Very funny," Goten said, trying to look pissed off, but failing badly. With that, the bell rang out sharply across the school grounds. Trunks grabbed his hair as a stabbing pain struck the left side of his head. Trunks groaned out loud, causing Goten to look at him.

"You okay, man?" Goten asked, worriedly. Shortly after, the bell ceased and the pain in his head faded away.

"Yeah, just got a headache," Trunks replied, realising he felt really tired all of a sudden.

"Well, hey, I gotta go. I'll meet up with you at lunch. Good luck in your Science exam!" Goten called as he ran off for his own exam.

"See ya!" Trunks waved and then he sloped off in the other direction.

-

"Hey, how'd it go?" Goten asked eagerly, as Trunks sat down in the seat next to him and pulled out his lunch.

"It was rough. Science was a nightmare," he complained. Trunks was in a bad mood. His headache had slowly come back throughout the day and the noise and lights of the cafeteria were only making it worse. To top it off, he had one hell of a sore throat and felt dizzy and exhausted.

_Maybe I'll feel better once I've had a bite to eat, _Trunks thought, hopefully, quickly starting to devour his lunch.

"Damn! I forgot to revise for my Spanish exam. Oh well, can't be helped," Goten said, calming down quickly from his initial panic.

"Kami, it's days like today when I wish I had Gohan's brain. Not all the time, though. I wouldn't wanna be a nerd forever," Goten added, as an afterthought. Trunks snorted despite himself.

"So, how'd your exams go?" he asked his spiky-haired friend.

"Well, I felt pretty confident about them. Which probably means I've failed," Goten sighed, glumly. Trunks laughed and then coughed as the sound grated his throat. "Yuck," Goten said, disapprovingly.

"Excuse me for dying here," Trunks barked angrily, still coughing.

"You're excused," Goten laughed. Trunks rolled his eyes but couldn't keep from smiling too.

"Are you done yet? I have to give Hannah my answer," Goten urged, getting up.

"So, are you gonna go out with her or not?" Trunks asked, standing up also.

"Nah, I've changed my mind. Her best friend is way cuter," Goten said, shamelessly. Trunks rolled his eyes again as he walked with his friend to the bins so they could dump their rubbish.

As Goten muttered on about Hannah's best friend, Trunks was once again struck by the dizziness of earlier in the morning. His knees felt shaky and he couldn't walk straight. The cafeteria around him blurred and dipped in and out of focus. Lights shone brightly and voices seemed twice as loud. The stabbing pain in his head intensified. He clutched at Goten for support as he walked straight into his Maths teacher, Mr. Vincent.

"Damn it!" Mr. Vincent yelled as most of his chicken salad landed on his suit. It was unfortunate for Trunks that Mr. Vincent happened to be the teacher he despised most.

"Foolish boy! How dare you?! Idiot! Look at the state of this suit!" Mr. Vincent screamed. By now, the whole cafeteria was watching the drama unfold.

As Mr. Vincent continued to kick up a fuss, Trunks refocused and something inside of him snapped. He was suddenly uncharacteristically furious. Who was this man to yell at him for an accident? Trunks growled softly. He had no right to!

Mr. Vincent was pointing a large, sausage-like finger in Trunks' face, berating him for his clumsiness. Trunks felt his hand rise up and grab it. Mr. Vincent stuttered in shock.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Mr. Briefs?!" He cried out as Trunks' grip on his finger got tighter.

Trunks smiled cruelly and felt satisfied with the snapping noise as he broke Mr. Vincent's finger in two. Mr. Vincent screamed as his index finger hung limp in Trunks' hand. Trunks then grabbed hold of the Maths teacher's jacket and sent him sprawling onto a nearby table. _Ouch. That's gotta hurt, _he thought in amusement.

Goten looked on in horror. What had come over his best friend?!

"Trunks, stop this, man! You could kill him!" Goten whispered, sharply. In an instant, Trunks felt his anger dissipate. He looked at the middle-aged man and felt shocked and guilty as the poor teacher clutched at his midriff.

A bird-like hand was placed upon Trunks' shoulder.

"I think you had better go and speak to the headmaster, Mr. Briefs," said the thin voice of Ms. Thompson, his English teacher.

Trunks nodded, too numb to speak. He withdrew from the cafeteria, not failing to notice how people moved from his path instantly. _Wow. I must have really scared them, _Trunks thought. _What's the matter with me today?_

-

Trunks had been sat outside the headmaster's office for over an hour now, waiting for his parents to finish discussing today's events. He felt terrified at the thought of his father coming to the school to discuss his behaviour. _At least Mom's here too, _he reconciled. He wished they'd hurry up. He wanted to go home.

Trunks felt ill. His head spun and he had a splitting headache. His neck was stiff and his muscles felt sore. Also, his sore throat really hadn't improved at all, in fact, it had gotten worse, if that were even possible. He was shaking uncontrollably. Another unstoppable wave of dizziness hit him and he felt nauseous. He grabbed the sides of the chair and held on tightly, eyes squeezed shut.

He didn't realise the door to the headmaster's office had opened. A mad Bulma burst out, furious at what her son had done. Behind her strolled Vegeta, who hadn't really been interested in anything the headmaster had had to say. Bulma spied her son sat on a small wooden chair, waiting for them. She was all set to march on over there and give him the scolding of his life for doing such a thing until she looked closer.

He was gripping the sides of his chair so hard that his knuckles were white. He was swaying slightly and shaking madly. His eyes were closed tightly and he seemed to be struggling for breath. His usually tanned skin that he had inherited from Vegeta was pale, but, at the same time, his cheeks were flushed, and, even from that far away, Bulma could clearly see the beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.

She stopped short and felt Vegeta grunt impatiently from behind as he almost walked into her.

"Vegeta, he doesn't look too good, does he?" Bulma whispered quietly so only Vegeta could hear. Vegeta looked at his son, stomach tightening nervously as he saw his son's obvious condition. _Stupid parental instincts, _he grumbled to himself.

"No, he doesn't. Nevertheless, that's not why we're here," he reminded her.

Bulma sighed. "Ever the concerned parent, Vegeta," she said, sarcastically. Vegeta smirked to himself.

"Trunks?" Bulma called to her son. Trunks looked up, weakly.

"It's time to go. You've been suspended for the next two weeks. You're lucky you weren't expelled. But here isn't really the place to talk about it," she hinted. Trunks knew what that meant. _It'll be ten times worse at home, _he thought, sadly. Slowly, he stood, leaning on the wall for support.

Vegeta sighed. Yes, alright, he could see Trunks wasn't on top form, but he was a Saiyan! That didn't give him the right to milk it for all it was worth!

"Get a move on," he hissed furiously. Trunks glared at his father. Their relationship hadn't been that great recently. All the while Trunks had been a child, Vegeta had been much more fatherly. There was even one time when he had held Trunks and told him he was proud of him. Recently, however, they seemed to have drifted apart and Trunks suspected Bra had had a part to play in that.

As Trunks shuffled past his father, Vegeta stuck his hand out and clipped him round the back of the head. Trunks wanted to scream as his already-terrible headache momentarily increased to new heights. He barely managed to keep from collapsing and slowly managed to exit out of the reception, tears in his eyes.

As the small group clambered into the car, Trunks felt a rising sense of urgency. He wanted to get home, go to his room, curl up under the covers and just die or something. He sighed as the engine started and closed his eyes, momentarily relieving the headache.

It had been a really rough day.

-

Trunks stumbled out of the car as they pulled up on the driveway, relieved to be home. He walked briskly through the front door and was about to head upstairs when a rough hand grabbed the back of his t-shirt and threw him into the kitchen.

Trunks felt his legs give out as he crashed against the cupboard.

"What the hell was that for?!" he yelled, despite his throat and headache. Vegeta stepped through the doorway, his wife behind him. She shook her head slightly at Vegeta's unforgiving methods of parenting but then realised, Trunks probably would have caught himself on any other day. Something was definitely wrong with him.

"You know what that was for, boy," Vegeta snarled. However, like his wife, he was surprised also. Usually, Trunks would be able to remain standing after a throw like that. He winced a little as he thought about what extra pain he must have just caused his son. But he wasn't about to give his emotions away here.

"I think, Trunks, we need to talk about what happened at lunch today," Bulma began, trying to take control before the both of the Saiyans' tempers got the better of them.

"Yes, yes, I know! It was an accident, I don't know what came over me. I'm grounded forever, I know! Can I go?" Trunks begged.

"Well...umm..." Bulma was brought up short. She wasn't sure how to proceed. Luckily, Vegeta took over for her.

"No, son. You're not grounded. That would be letting you off far too easy. Instead, you'll spend some extra time training with me," Vegeta decided. Trunks snorted, despite himself.

"That's not much of a punishment. I've been wanting to train for ages," he pointed out.

"Oh, believe me, by the time I'm finished with you, boy, it will be," Vegeta said, smiling eerily.

Trunks gulped. _Great, time spent training with Daddy-Dearest. Can't wait, _he thought, grumpily. Normally, he'd love to spend extra time working out with his father and showing him how strong he'd gotten, but not when he felt like this. He'd be out of shape and end up embarrassing himself. _Yeah. I'll bet that's why he's making me do it. So I end up looking like a moron, _he guessed.

Glancing at the doorway, he realised his parents had begun to depart, probably looking for Bra who they'd left with his Grandma. Suddenly, Trunks was hit with the dizziness again. _Damn it! _He thought, groaning, as the room spun. Waves of nausea began to flow over him. He realised what was about to happen and moaned.

With urgency, he rushed to the kitchen sink and threw up noisily. He felt sure that anything he'd eaten in the past 24 hours was being regurgitated. The taste of vomit on his tongue made him feel sicker, as he sucked in desperate breaths in between throwing up each of his past meals. He slowly sank to the tiled floor, resolving to clean up the mess in the sink as soon as he felt he could stand again.

At the same time, whilst walking down the hallway with his wife, Vegeta had heard his son be sick with his acute Saiyan hearing. He fought the urge to rush back to the kitchen. _My son's a Saiyan, _he thought, furiously fighting his parental instincts.

_He'll be fine._

_-_

A/N: Hmmm...Now I'm worried that was _too _long =/ Never mind XD! Hope you guys enjoyed it. The next chapter is a quite a bit shorter but I feel like it packs more of a punch on its own. Anyways, speak soon! (Probably tomorrow XD!) Oh! Wait! I forgot! Just feel I should mention, that bit earlier when Trunks says;

"Well, that's a relief - I'd be worried if you were asked out by a guy!" Yeah, I just want to point out, I have absolutely nothing against gay people. That line was only intended to bring a bit of humour, not to offend anyone. Phew! Felt like I should mention that before the review section turns into some sort of cowboy stand-off XD!

Speak soon, guys! ^-^

-x-


	3. Chapter 2: A Step Too Far

A/N: Hello, everybody! Got another update for you! I will admit, this chapter is only teeny-weeny. It's more of a brief interlude than an actual chapter to be honest, but I think it works better on its own. To make up for it, I'll see if I can post the next chapter later on in the day or something. I mean, hell, it's not like I'm going anywhere! I'm still snowed in XD! Enjoy!

Chapter 2: A Step Too Far

Almost 3 hours later, Vegeta shoved open Trunks' bedroom door and found him on his bed, typing something on his laptop.

"Boy, we're training. Now," Vegeta added, for emphasis. Trunks flicked the screen down and nodded, sitting up slowly. He felt a little better than he had earlier, but not really ready to train. However, he wasn't going to disobey the Prince of All Saiyans – that would be suicide.

He followed his father down to the Gravity Room and wondered if his father had even noticed his son wasn't very well. _Doubt it, _he thought venomously as they stepped into the G.R. Vegeta walked over to the controls and set it to 150x Earth's gravity. A nice warm-up.

Trunks felt the air increase in pressure and fought to stay upright. Normally, 150x Earth's Gravity was nothing to him. But, today, it took all he had to stay standing up. Within moments, his unnatural headache returned and it was all he could do to keep from giving in to the desire of falling to his knees and curling up in a ball.

"What's wrong, son? Can't handle a little gravity?" Vegeta mocked. Trunks scowled at his father. He'd show him!

Turning Super Saiyan and immediately regretting it as nausea tried to overcome him again, he flew at his father and threw sluggish punches that Vegeta could easily dodge.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to come anywhere close to defeating me!" Vegeta cried, going on the offensive as Trunks let his guard down.

Vegeta struck Trunks' face hard and he dropped to the floor, wiping blood from the side of his mouth.

"What's the matter, Trunks? Never seen your own blood before?" Vegeta jeered. He didn't want to chastise his son like this, but he wouldn't put up with these sloppy moves, just because the boy wasn't very well. He was a Saiyan, for God's sake!

"Get up, you weakling! I will NOT tolerate this!" Vegeta hissed. Trunks could feel tears pricking the corners of his eyes. He held them shut for a moment, until the moisture dissipated. He slowly opened them again and stood up, hovering up to his father. He looked the Saiyan Prince straight in the eyes, feeling only rising anger.

"I HATE YOU!" Trunks screamed, rushing forwards and ignoring his aching head. He threw more and more punches, blind rage guiding him. He wanted to strike his father; he wanted to _hurt _him. Trunks paused for a moment, catching his breath. A moment was all Vegeta needed. Forming a small ki blast in his right hand, Vegeta let it go in Trunks' direction.

Usually, Trunks would have just batted it away or moved out of its path. Today, however, was different. Vegeta knew his son had seen him fire it, yet it took Trunks a second longer than it should have done to react. Gasping, he tried to move out of its path but it still caught his right side.

Yelping, Trunks dropped to the floor. Crawling to his knees, he pushed himself upright, swaying as all the pain he'd been ignoring assaulted his senses at once. He'd lost his Super Saiyan form and his head was killing him. He pulled at his hair as the stabbing pain at the back of his head intensified. He fell back to the floor, yelling in agony. The lights on the ceiling were blurred and his vision was distorted again. He couldn't determine up from down and pressed one hand to the floor, it being the only thing he was sure of.

Vegeta's look of victory quickly faded when panic overcame him as he watched his son cry out. His ki blast wouldn't have done this much damage, surely?! No, this was something different. He could see now. Trunks was ill, very ill. He rushed to the controls and restored normal gravity before going over to his son.

Trunks was now sprawled out on the floor. He shook violently and was throwing up in between his screams. Sweat poured off of him. Vegeta knelt down and hurriedly pulled the teenage boy up, fear recoiling in every part of his body. He placed a hand on Trunks' forehead and was astonished at how hot it felt.

Trunks threw up again, black spots dancing in front of his eyes. He felt overwhelmingly tired. Despite wanting to fight it, Trunks knew there was nothing he could do. As the shaking slowed, his eyes drooped and he slipped into unconsciousness, vaguely aware of his father calling his name.

-

"Trunks! TRUNKS! Open your eyes, damn it! Wake up! Trunks!" Vegeta shook Trunks some more. Something was seriously wrong. His son had just lost consciousness. He needed medical attention. Despite having Trunks' vomit splattered down his chest, he rose from the floor, Trunks in his arms and blasted the door to the gravity room. Flying out, he looked down at the burning face of his son. _What have I done?! _He thought, fearfully.

"Bulma!" he yelled, as he flew into the house. "BULMA!"

-

A/N: Before I go, I just want to take a quick moment to thank everybody that's reviewed or added me or this story to various lists/alerts. Means a lot to me guys, really, so thank you very much :)! Speak soon! ^-^

-x-


	4. Chapter 3: Shocking Conclusion

A/N: Hello again, everybody! Aren't you lucky?! Two chapters in one day lol XD! I almost forgot about putting this one up! But I read back over the lovely reviews I've gotten today and decided that you guys didn't deserve to be left in suspense like that! So here it is! In this chapter, you found out which illness Trunks is suffering from and the true extent of the damage...Hehehe, aren't I evil?! Lol XD Enjoy!

Shocking Conclusion

Vegeta squirmed uncomfortably in the hard, plastic chairs of the hospital. He and Bulma had been there for a little over 5 hours as the doctors worked tirelessly over his sick son. Bulma was asleep beside him, her head leaning on his shoulder. He removed his arm from the back of her chair, being careful not to jostle her and wake her up.

Vegeta looked at the clock on the wall. It was nearly midnight. His neck was stiff from being in the same position for hours on end. He stood up and walked through the waiting room doors, hoping to get a breath of fresh air outside.

Out on the street, the night air was cool and refreshing. He cracked his knuckles as he leant against the building. He couldn't take his mind off of Trunks. He thought back to when they'd arrived at the hospital. Vegeta had sprinted inside with Trunks and Bulma had gone back home to make the necessary arrangements for Bra before returning almost an hour later.

He remembered laying his son down onto the stretcher that the nurses had brought out. Much to his own surprise, he'd kissed Trunks gently on the forehead, catching his breath at its high temperature. Then, the nurses had wheeled Trunks down the hall and out of sight.

There had been no news since then and Vegeta could only pray that no news was good news. Sucking in another lungful of cold air, Vegeta thought back over his life and how he'd got where he was today.

-

Once a ruthless, cold-blooded killer, he'd come to Earth, heart set on facing up to perhaps the worthiest challenger he'd ever known. _Kakarot_. He remembered the fury he'd felt at being defeated and then at being showed mercy by the other Saiyan. Mercy! The Prince of All Saiyans, having to be shown mercy! He'd rather have been slaughtered nobly than offered a second chance. Or so he'd thought, at the time.

Namek came after that, where he'd first experienced death. And met Bulma for the first time. It was where his rival Kakarot, the low-class Saiyan soldier had become a Super Saiyan for the first time. It was the place where his old 'master' Frieza had died. Or so they'd all thought. Vegeta was never sure of what to make of his time on Namek. Had it been the place where he'd finally become free from a life of slavery at Frieza's hands? Or was it the place that sparked his mind-numbing jealousy at bearing witness to the first Super Saiyan in over 1,000 years that _wasn't _him? Even now, Vegeta didn't know how to view his time there.

Shortly after, back on Earth, it was where he and Bulma had entered, to begin with, a rather rocky relationship. The time during which his son, who now lay critically ill, was conceived. At first, Vegeta's time with Bulma had been nothing more than something to do. He hadn't loved her. And, to begin with, he hadn't loved his infant son, either.

It was Future Trunks who'd shown him that he really did love them. The lavender-haired young man who'd single-handedly defeated a newly-restored Frieza and his father King Cold in a matter of moments. A young man who'd achieved Super Saiyan at an age that should have been impossible.

It was watching that young man die that had sparked Vegeta's love to reveal itself. Cell had fired a blast that shot straight through his chest and left him lying in a pool of his own vomited blood. The emotions that had coursed through Vegeta's head in that moment had left him with no doubt - he'd loved that boy.

Of course, Future Trunks had returned to life later, thanks to a wish to Shenron. He'd departed from the Present and left to go defeat the Androids and Imperfect Cell of his time. There was no denying that Vegeta had been proud of him.

In the Present though, he was left with Bulma and an infant Trunks. The woman, he realised, he did care for after all. If she had needed it, he would have given his life in a second to save her. And his son, a Trunks of his very own that he could shape and mould to be a great warrior. Future Trunks' death had shown him that he did care. That he was capable of love.

But, now, it was happening again. His son dying. He'd seen the son of this time die once already, when Majin Buu had blown up the planet and that fool Kakarot had grabbed the world's false hero and the Guardian of the Earth instead of the half-Saiyans and the Namek. He could see the point in bringing Dende. After all, without him, no Dragon Balls. But Hercule Satan? Really?! Was he mad?! In the end, though, it didn't matter. Bulma and Trunks were wished back, along with the rest of the Earth.

As the little family were reunited again on the Lookout, Vegeta knew he was changed. They were as much his as he was theirs. The Saiyan Prince had finally settled down and he often wondered what his father would say if he could see him now.

-

Vegeta's thoughts suddenly snapped back to the ill 14-year-old, somewhere inside the sterile, white building Vegeta now leant against. He thought back to those horrifying moments in the Gravity Room earlier. He shut his eyes, trying to block out the images of his son screaming on the floor. _What have I done? _Vegeta thought for the second time that day.

Trunks had clearly been unwell. Yet, Vegeta had still pushed his son to train with him and caused him further pain with unnecessarily harsh methods. _If he doesn't recover, how will I live with myself? _Vegeta wondered. He wasn't sure he'd be able to. No! He couldn't think like that, his son would recover! His son was a Saiyan!

_No, _Vegeta thought, squeezing his eyes tighter as he realised. _He is a half-Saiyan and_ _maybe cannot handle things like illness in the same way a full-blooded Saiyan can. _Vegeta sighed. _It's time I realised that._

"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice came from in front of him. His eyes shot open, startled. It was Bulma.

"The doctor wants to speak to us," she informed him. He nodded, too afraid to speak. This was it, the news that would make or break his heart. Looking as nervous as he felt, Bulma's fear was reflected in her eyes. In half a moment, Vegeta stepped forward and gathered her in an unnatural-for-him embrace, neither having to say a thing.

She looked up at him and he kissed her quickly. They broke apart and, still clutching at one another for support, they walked back into the hospital, following a kind nurse who'd waited for them patiently in the reception area.

She led them to a small office. A simple white door stood between them and the news of their son's promising, young life. 'DOCTOR CALEB GREY' was inscribed on a small plaque on the door. He was the man who had been there all through Gohan and Goku's recovery after their fight with Vegeta. He'd also helped Vegeta recover from his explosion in the G.R. when he'd first lived at Capsule Corp. He was a good doctor and friends with Bulma's father. He handled all of the Briefs family's medical problems.

So far, he hadn't failed them.

As the door was pushed open, the grey-haired doctor looked up and beckoned for the couple to shut the door behind them and sit down in front of his desk. He looked exhausted. He'd probably been due to go home hours ago, but he'd stayed to help Trunks. Vegeta could only feel gratitude towards him.

As they sat down, Dr. Grey began. "Well, where to begin? Trunks' symptoms were quite alarming and he was taken for a CT scan. It was revealed that he had a rather inflamed patch on his brain," Dr. Grey stopped as Bulma gasped. Vegeta's stomach lurched at the doctor's words but he could only listen to what he had to say next.

"We ran some more tests and, from what we can determine, it seems Trunks has Encephalitis Lethargica. It was a disease quite prominent in the 1920's. It is characterised by a high fever, sore throat, headache, double vision, delayed reactions, upper body weakness, lethargy, stiff neck and behavioural changes." Vegeta found himself nodding. He'd seen Trunks experience most of those symptoms himself.

"Now, what we know is wrong with him, we can treat him more effectively. However, you should know, the name Encephalitis Lethargica literally means 'sleeping sickness'. Your son has falling into a coma which may span months or even years. His coma is so deep that he's having to be kept alive by a life support machine. His immune system is incredibly weakened and so we ask you not to visit him if you are suffering from an illness or ailment yourself. We don't know if he can hear us and we're not sure if he will make a full recovery, should he wake up, or even if he'll wake up at all. I'm sorry," Dr. Grey said, gently, finishing his shocking speech.

Bulma was crying, her body wracking with silent sobs. Vegeta couldn't look at her or the doctor. He turned his head to the side and squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to let the tears in them spill. His son couldn't even keep himself alive any longer, a machine was breathing for him.

He clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, glaring fiercely.

"Can we see him?" Vegeta asked, keeping his voice low so no one could hear how raspy it had gotten.

"Of course. He's in the Intensive Care Unit right now. I'll take you to him," the doctor replied, standing.

Bulma, still crying, and Vegeta stood up and followed Dr. Grey down the corridor. Vegeta remained silent the whole way. He felt numb.

Dead.

-

A/N: Again, a little short but hopefully enough ^-^! You wouldn't believe the trouble I went to trying to find a good illness to use for this story! Also, the whole coma/life support thing is a little bit of improvisation on my part XD! I have no idea if it's even possible for you to need a life support machine if you've slipped into a coma as a result of illness, but whatever. Just pretend if it's not :)! Anyway, I'm off now!

Speak soon, peeps ^-^!

-x-


	5. Chapter 4: Stark Realisation

A/N: Morning everybody! Or should I say afternoon XD?! Lol bit of a late one last night but I'm back with the next chapter nonetheless. Before I let you guys get on and read the next installment, I just want to give a shout out to **Angel Wings-008**. Her own story, **Shattered Soul**, was actually the inspiration for this one and it is the actual story that made me decide I wanted to give writing fanfiction a go. So, if you haven't already read it, GO CHECK IT NOW BECAUSE IT'S FREAKING AMAZING!!! Enjoy! XD

Stark Realisation

The door to the little side room was opened as a blonde nurse flitted passed the sombre group, clutching a medical bag of what looked like IV fluid.

"In here," Dr. Arthur Druck (**A/N: His original name, for the benefit of Angel Wings-008 ;) XD**) indicated softly. Vegeta took a deep breath in and entered the brightly lit room.

He surveyed the bed and exhaled sharply at the sight of his son. A thousand deep breaths couldn't have prepared him for it.

The lavender-haired teenager was propped up by the pillows. His arms lay on top of the white covers and revealed a complex index of tubes going in and out of his skin. His face was not restful, even in his coma and droplets of sweat ran down his face as his fever fought his illness. A breathing tube attached to the life support machine had been uncomfortably placed inside his mouth.

There was a moment of silence, when all that could be heard was the click and hiss of Trunks' life support machine as it filled his lungs with oxygen. Bulma stumbled back into Vegeta, in obvious disbelief. She shook uncontrollably as fresh tears ran down her face. Vegeta held her and let her cry against his chest, resting his head in her aqua hair.

The doctor stepped past the shell-shocked couple and began overlooking various bags of fluid hanging by Trunks' bed and inspecting his heart monitor.

"As you can see, we're pumping your son with antibiotics to combat the fever. Right now, he's in a stable condition," Dr. Druck said, which should have been reassuring to the couple.

But Vegeta couldn't help but look bleakly upon it. _Right now, he's in a stable condition, sure. But what about in an hour or so, or even 5 minutes from now?! _Vegeta wanted to scream at him. He managed to hold it in, though. He knew it wasn't doctor's fault. The doctor was doing everything he could for Trunks.

"I'm sure you'd like some time alone with him," the doctor said, seemingly reading Vegeta's mind. Unsure if his voice would break with emotion, Vegeta merely nodded.

"This red button here alerts the nurses if there is a problem. Press it if his condition deteriorates," Dr. Druck instructed him. Vegeta nodded again and he and Bulma took the two seats next to Trunks' bed as the doctor melted away, shutting the door behind him.

"Well," Bulma began, her voice cracking with an attempt at light-heartedness. "He certainly is a sorry sight right now isn't he?" Vegeta didn't even bother to look at her, as he began to stroke a patch on Trunks' arm that was not adorned by tubes.

_Yes, _he thought to himself.

_A sorry sight, indeed._

-

It had been almost a week since Trunks had been admitted into hospital. His condition hadn't changed at all. Vegeta had not left the hospital for a moment. Bulma, on the contrary, had been home a few times to check on Bra and report back Trunks' progress to her parents. The likes of Yamcha and Krillin and his family had been in to visit, but, other than that it had been a quiet week.

Vegeta sloped back into the small room he had grown accustomed to, gripping tightly on the disposable cup he was holding. Bulma, who'd been wiping a cold flannel across her son's forehead, looked up and smiled a tired smile at her husband.

He looked at her hopefully, but Bulma shook her head, knowing what he was silently asking her.

"Nothing," she sighed in reply. They had been like this for a week. Any time either of them left, they'd come back and ask if Trunks' condition had improved at all. Vegeta sat down into the other chair, placed his hot hospital coffee on the floor and laid his head back to try and get some rest.

After five minutes of relative silence, Trunks' heart monitor began to beep rapidly. Vegeta woke up almost instantly and rushed to his son's bedside. He pushed the red button and crouched by Trunks' head, worry written all over his weary face. The door burst open and Dr. Druck and a team of doctors rushed in and wheeled the boy away without so much a word of explanation.

A short nurse led them to the waiting room, speaking in a reassuring manner and talking about how it was probably just a reaction to the medicine. Vegeta wasn't paying attention; he was too busy staring down the hall, watching the retreating group of people that now held Trunks' life in their hands.

-

DREAM SEQUENCE

_A massive cloud of dust swirled across the battlefield, crackling with energy. That ki signature that the Z-Fighters had been so sure was gone for good had suddenly reappeared. As rocks flew past their stunned faces, a crafty finger hid amongst the thick dust. Firing a subtle, yet powerful ki blast through the smoke, it was all over for one._

_The beam of yellow light struck without warning, striking Future Trunks through the chest. Vegeta watched in undisguised horror as the young man cried out in pain. The blast dissipated and Future Trunks looked down at the mortal wound. _

_Vegeta felt physically sick as he realised the Saiyan armour was pierced all the way through. Future Trunks looked back up and into the eyes of his father. The father he'd never known. Vegeta could only stare back, shock plain on his face. Future Trunks gasped and his eyes widened slightly. He gagged and retched as blood spurted out of his mouth._

_The Saiyan Prince felt numb, as if a part of him had just died, as his son from the Future collapsed on the ground. The idiot Yamcha had rushed over as Future Trunks coughed up more blood, but it was too late. The son that the Prince had been too busy to concern himself with, was dead. In that moment, Vegeta felt an anger he'd never realised he was capable of experiencing flood his mind._

_Even when he'd lived under Frieza's rule, the hate he'd felt for that lizard hadn't even come close to what he was experiencing now. He wanted to pull Cell apart, limb by limb, for what he'd done to his son. He wanted to fire his own ki blast through Cell's heart, watch him fall to the ground and scream "How does that feel?!" at the top of his lungs._

_Before fully conscious of what he was doing, Vegeta had gone Super and had unleashed a barrage of attacks against the casually-smirking villain. He used up all of his energy, firing blast after blast in an attempt to destroy the monster that had destroyed his son._

_He'd thought it was all over until Cell reappeared just above him and sent his weakened form spiralling to the ground in a single punch..._

-

Vegeta's eyes flew open and he gasped as the nightmare ended. He hadn't even realised he'd fallen asleep. He thought over his nightmare quietly for a moment before realising a terrible truth.

_If this illness kills Trunks, it will be considered a natural cause. _

_That dragon won't bring him back! _

_-_

A/N: Awesome, I think we're about halfway through now guys! I don't know whether to feel sad or relieved. I'll let you know when I get to the end XD! Next chapter: Vegeta goes a bit crazy and Goku and friends make a brief cameo.

Speak soon, people!

-x-


	6. Chapter 5: Violent Rampage

A/N: Hello again guys. I'm sorry it's been awhile :( I've got some bad news. Unfortunately, with the exception of this chapter, I won't be posting anymore fanfiction for quite a while. I was going to just cut clean through and not post but I decided that all you lovely peoples didn't deserve to be left in the dark.

Basically, over the weekend things got to me and, well, I suppose i just broke down. Things went really wrong, really quickly but thanks to the wonderful support of my family and one of my best friends (not mentioning any names...Kaylee ;) XD) I perked up and got back on track. However, I did come to the conclusion that I need to balance my life more evenly and prioritise better and that means ditching fanfiction for a little while.

Don't worry, I will finish posting this story :) But, with the exception of replying to messages, I'm not having anything to do with this site for a bit. So sorry, guys :( Really. But, for now, please enjoy the fifth chapter :)...

Violent Rampage

Vegeta stood up slowly, fists trembling. He turned away from his wife and began to walk towards the hospital exit.

"Where are you going?" Bulma asked, curiously. "Don't you wanna wait here for Trunks?"

"I'll be back soon. Just going to clear my head," Vegeta replied in a hushed tone that frightened Bulma. Something wasn't right with him.

As soon as Vegeta was outside, he took off and headed in the direction of South City. He got there in record speed. He gazed around him at the plentiful tall buildings and pathetic Earthlings going about their daily business.

_Not for much longer, _he thought, murderously. Turning Super, he fired a powerful blast into a nearby building, feeling satisfaction as it caved in on itself and innocent people ran screaming. He swooped down and flew through the crowded streets, blasting anything that moved. He grabbed numerous people and chucked them up into the air, firing wildly, burning off his anger.

In a matter of minutes, half of the city had been wrecked. To his surprise, various news coverage teams had turned up already to cover the destruction. _Damn, they got here fast, _he thought, whilst forming a large blast in his right hand to send in their direction. He released it and was pleased as flames engulfed the street.

Suddenly, he sensed some of the Z-Fighters' ki signatures approaching fast. They must have felt his power increase and come to see what was going on. _Hmm, let's see...Kakarot, obviously, the Namek, Goten and Kakarot's eldest child, _he recognised. Well, he figured they'd show up at some point. He'd be damned, though; if they thought that the Saiyan Prince was going to come quietly.

Smashing through a big office block, he stared as it collapsed to the ground. _Kind of like Trunks in the Gravity Room on Monday, _Vegeta thought, with a hysterical laugh. He fired another ki blast into the rubble, savouring the smoky fumes and terrified cries.

"Vegeta! STOP! What are you doing?!" Goku yelled, coming to a stop just behind him. Vegeta turned. Goku was there, along with Goten, Piccolo and Gohan situated just behind him. Vegeta smiled.

"Having fun!" he yelled, evilly. He took off again, striking the ruined city with more and more blasts of energy.

"No! Stop it, Vegeta! All those innocent people! Come on, just leave them alone! Go back to the hospital, Trunks needs you there, Vegeta! Not out here, destroying lives!" Goku cried after following him, going for a guilt-trip. _So, he has heard about Trunks. I was wondering whether the woman had told him or not, _Vegeta thought to himself before turning to face the other Saiyan.

"You know what gets me, Kakarot? What gets me really pissed off?" Vegeta paused, waiting for Goku to respond, but he just looked confused so Vegeta continued.

"You stand there, lecturing me about innocent lives and all that bull. Well, what about my son? My son's INNOCENT LIFE!" Vegeta began to shout as his anger got the better of him.

"You'll persuade me to go back to the hospital and calm down and then you'll go and get the Dragon Radar from my wife. You'll look for the Dragon Balls and wish for everyone I've killed here today to be brought back to life. But what about Trunks? If he dies today, Kakarot, HE CAN NEVER BE WISHED BACK! HE'S DYING FROM A DAMN NATURAL CAUSE AND HE'LL STAY DEAD!" Vegeta was screaming at the top of his voice now and felt refuelled with new energy as he unconsciously turned Super Saiyan 2.

Goku floated forward a bit. "Look, Vegeta, I understand..." Goku began but was cut off.

"BULL, KAKAROT! BULL! WHEN HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A SITUATION WHERE ONE OF THE ONES YOU LOVE IS FACING DEATH WITH NO CHANCE OF RETURN? Hmm? ANSWER ME!" Vegeta yelled. To his great embarrassment, he felt hot tears begin to run down his cheeks, but there was nothing he could do to stop them.

He turned away from the group ahead of him and sent an almighty blast straight to the centre of the city, almost completely vaporising everything in sight.

"Vegeta, NO!" Goku flew forwards at inhuman speed and wrestled Vegeta's arms behind his back, pinning them to his sides. Vegeta struggled madly.

"Let me go, clown!" he yelled, fiercely. Goku just hung on for dear life.

Vegeta continued to try to wrestle free, shouting insanely. Goku gasped in surprise as he felt shooting pain up his left arm. In all of his struggling, Vegeta had snapped Goku's wrist.

"Piccolo!" Goku cried.

"Right!" the green alien flew over, instantly knowing what to do. As Vegeta thrashed about, Piccolo carefully aimed his hand and chopped Vegeta's neck, knocking him unconscious.

With a final cry, Vegeta lost his Super form and went limp in Goku's grasp. Piccolo took one of Vegeta's arms and pulled it around his neck to support him while Goku nursed his wrist.

"You okay, Dad?" Gohan asked, worriedly as he joined his father and Piccolo.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's a good thing we're going to the hospital!" Goku laughed, attempting to make light of the situation.

"Man, look at this place!" Goten exclaimed from behind his older brother, surveying the destroyed city. "Vegeta wasted no time here!"

"No kidding! I've never seen him like that – I mean, he usually keeps his head in situations like this but I don't think I've ever seen him so keyed up before," Goku agreed. He glanced at the unconscious Saiyan Prince in concern.

"Well, he really does care for his son, if the damage here is anything to go by," Piccolo interjected.

"Uh-huh," Goku and Goten said, simultaneously. Gohan just nodded.

"Well, let's get out of here, guys. Bulma's probably worried sick," Goku prompted. Everyone nodded and began to take off in the direction of West City.

Gohan stayed for just a second longer, looking at the ravaged city. Vegeta was right; they probably would wish all the ones he'd killed back to life later. _But, what if Trunks dies? What happens then? _Gohan thought, grimly. He sighed to himself.

"Hey, Gohan! Let's go, man!" Goten, who'd stopped to wait for him, called out.

"Coming!" Gohan took off and joined his brother, keeping pace with him so they could talk.

"That was one hell of a rampage!" Goten said, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it.

Gohan thought back to the previous moments of Vegeta bellowing, crying for his son.

"No kidding," he replied, sadly.

-

A/N: Hmmm...I actually quite like this chapter XD! I can see him doing something like this. Vegeta, I mean. Anyways, thank you so much for the reviews and the support and everything, guys. Honestly, it really means something to know people like what you're writing! Sorry again for this mess :( I'm gonna miss posting on here....

Speak later, peeps :'(

Love Racy

-x-


	7. Chapter 6: Trading Places

A/N: Hello, people! Recognise me ;)?! Lol I'm back! Everything is back on track and life is better than ever XD! So, I can finally get around to posting the rest of this story! Woohoo! This chapter here actually wasn't a part of the original fic I wrote. In fact, I came up with it about a week or two ago XD. I know this one is a bit of a filler really but I hope you can forgive me :)! I have been away, after all ^-^.

Before I let you guys get on and read this, I just want to say a **MASSIVE** thank you to everybody who reviewed with words of sympathy and sent me lovely PM's. It was really overwhelming to recieve that level of support, so thank you very much everyone :). Also, while I'm here, I'd like to give a shout out to one of my best friends, Kaylee. You really helped me out back there, my friend ^-^. Thank you so so SO much for being incredibly awesome, sis ;) XD, even when I skive P.E lol!

Right, enough of all the sap XD! Enjoy!

Trading Places

"Sorry, we haven't been in to visit him yet, Bulma. Gohan and Chi-Chi have just gotten over colds and we didn't wanna pass it on to Trunks," Goku apologised, nursing his newly-bandaged wrist.

"It's fine, Goku," Bulma replied, with a tired smile. She returned her gaze to her son.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air. Bulma sighed quietly, thinking of her husband. She couldn't believe Vegeta had gone on a rampage like that. He was in a private room right now, recovering from a heavy dose of sedative. When he'd woken up in the middle of the doctor resetting Goku's wrist, it hadn't been pretty. Bulma had had to ask for him to be sedated.

_Mind you, _she thought. _If I had his kind of power, I might just wanna kill someone right now, too. _She sighed again. Goku laughed nervously.

"Bulma, do you think I could borrow the Dragon Radar? I know now isn't the best time to ask but...all those people..." Goku's voice trailed off.

"Sure, Goku. If you go to my house, my Dad knows where it is," Bulma said, eyes never leaving her son's flushed face.

"Thanks. I'll come back when I'm done, okay?" Goku put his good hand on his oldest friend's shoulder. She just nodded. Goku put two fingers to his forehead and vanished as he used Instant Transmission to get to Capsule Corp.

Bulma laid a hand on Trunks' forehead and realised it was quite warm and sweaty. She picked up a damp flannel that had been resting in a bowl of water off of his bedside table and gently wiped it across his forehead. She dunked it back into the water, letting it soak up some of the moisture and repeated her mantra. She wished she could do more for Trunks but this was all the nurses would let her do.

The door clicked behind her and she jumped, looking back over her shoulder to see who it was. It was the flame-haired Prince. She eyed him nervously. Was he over his 'funny five minutes' yet? He glanced at her and took a seat in the corner of the room. Bulma licked her lips, suddenly wondering what she should say.

"Feel any better?" she asked, in a small voice.

He nodded. "You must have been worried. I-I'm sorry," he said, his voice equally small as he tried to swallow his pride and apologise to his mate.

Bulma looked away and back at Trunks.

"S'okay," she whispered, knowing full well his Saiyan ears could hear that he was forgiven. Actually, she'd never been mad at him in the first place.

"You got over that sedative fast," Bulma noted. Vegeta just shrugged in a manner that clearly said _Saiyan thing_.

"What was wrong with him? You know, before I..." Vegeta struggled for the right word to describe his killing spree. "...left?"

"It was a reaction to the antibiotics, the doctor said. I don't remember it all. Something about blood pressure and stabilising his heart," Bulma replied, uncharacteristically taking in less information than she normally would concerning Trunks' well-being.

Vegeta looked down at the tiled floor. Bulma got up suddenly.

"I need to get home. Mom and Dad are bringing Bra to visit later and I wanted to make sure she's fully prepared. I'll probably bring them just after Bra's had her dinner. You mind taking over?" Bulma asked, gesturing to the flannel and bowl of water.

Vegeta nodded and took Bulma's seat. She squeezed his arm and left, shutting the door behind her. Vegeta picked up the flannel and continued where Bulma had left off. Trunks' closed eyes narrowed and the heart monitor quickened briefly as he silently fought the pain in his coma.

Vegeta could feel a lump form in his throat. With a gentleness he doubted he'd ever exercised before, he stroked the flannel across Trunks' forehead, mindful of the lavender strands. He remembered the day Trunks had been born. He hadn't been there by choice, but Bulma had needed him to get her to the hospital when the car wouldn't start.

It had been quite a cold day, considering it was Spring, and Vegeta could still remember his shock as his mother-in-law took him by surprise and handed him a newborn Trunks. He could even remember the little fluffy white hat that Trunks was wearing which hospital had provided. It had looked ridiculous and Vegeta had pulled it off in irritation. The mess of fluffy purple hair that had spilled out underneath had almost made him laugh and cry. He refused to be proud, though. He would not be weakened by foolish emotion for the pitiful human female and the weak half-breed.

Vegeta smiled to himself. _Fool, _he thought. Trunks' head twitched briefly, eyes still narrowed. Vegeta cautiously raised a hand and stroked his son's cheek. He hadn't realised he'd been welling up until an unruly sob escaped from his mouth and tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Please, my son. I'm sorry for...for what I did, what I said. Please, get better. For your mother...for me," he whispered. Then, the hard-hearted Saiyan Prince collapsed his head in his hands and wept profusely, unseen by anyone, by his son's bed.

-

Dr. Druck peered round the door of Trunks' private room in the ICU. He had been residing there for a little over two weeks now, thanks to numerous allergic reactions to various medications. Saiyan blood was a master at healing but Dr. Druck had no idea how it could also be so delicate to work with. The fact that Trunks' blood was mixed with that of a human's didn't really help the situation either.

Shaking his head, the doctor was thankful that they'd finally found a medication Trunks wasn't allergic to. He wasn't sure they hospital could cope with the casualties if the boy's volatile father freaked out like he had the first time Trunks had suffered an allergic reaction.

Tapping the door, Trunks' parents looked up sleepily. They were both still rather tired after numerous sleepless nights watching over their son and making sure he didn't have any more allergic reactions but Dr. Druck could see that the dark circles were starting to fade from beneath their eyes.

"Mr. and Mrs. Briefs," the doctor whispered quietly. It was still quite early. "A colleague of mine has a bed available in the Coma Ward. Since Trunks hasn't had an allergic reaction in over five days, we thought it might be better for him to move up there and make this room available to other patients."

When they didn't look convinced, Dr. Druck tried again. "If Trunks is moved to the Coma Ward, he'll be treated by more knowledgeable doctors than myself. Neurosurgeons, in fact," the doctor informed them. When Bulma's eyes glinted, Dr. Druck knew he had them.

"It is clear my limited knowledge of the human brain is not enough to treat your son. We were hoping that the doctors up there might prove more effective in his recovery," Dr. Druck finished, hopefully.

Vegeta growled and stood up, his fist raised at the doctor. "If you are so useless and are not able to look after my son properly, then why is he still here?!" Vegeta demanded. "Why haven't you and your team of idiots moved him up there sooner?!"

The doctor backed off and raised his hands slightly, irritated when he heard the giggling of some of the nurses behind who were watching the scene unfold. It wasn't often that the serious and stern Dr. Druck was met with someone he couldn't defy.

Bulma stood up and placed a hand on her husband's chest and took over. Vegeta stiffened slightly but he pulled his fist down and settled for crossing his arms and glaring instead.

"Will they know about his Saiyan heritage?" Bulma asked the nervous doctor. He nodded.

"Of course, they will be informed at your permission. You can count on Dr. Evers to give Trunks the best care in the hospital," Dr. Druck promised.

Bulma looked sceptical. "I don't suppose this _saintly _doctor will keep my family's secret for free, will he?" Bulma asked.

Now, Dr. Druck looked awkward. "Of course, a small donation on your part may be required," he stammered.

Bulma rolled her eyes and Vegeta hissed, terrifying Dr. Druck even further. "Your species sickens me," Vegeta spat and Bulma prodded his chest angrily.

"Hey! Your wife belongs to _that species, _bud!" she reminded him. Vegeta rolled his eyes and smirked.

"Your point?" he asked. Bulma squealed in frustration and tried to reach up and swat him around the ear. Vegeta caught her wrists and held himself away from her. Eventually, Bulma gave up struggling and settled on blowing a raspberry and wriggling free. Vegeta rolled his eyes again and found himself unable to take his eyes off his wife.

Dr. Druck watched the scene unfold in wonder. He had to admit, for all the formidability that man held, he sure loved his family.

"How much?" Bulma asked suddenly, turning back to Dr. Druck.

"Well, let's just discuss that when we get there, hmmm?" the doctor offered. Bulma nodded, unhappy that people no longer did things 'out of the goodness of their hearts', but willing to pay any sum to have her baby open his eyes again.

"The Coma Ward is in the East of the hospital. I hope to be able to move him directly. If you wouldn't mind spending some time in the Family Room or even visiting home for a couple of hours…" the doctor's voice trailed off. "This process could take a while."

Vegeta grunted and Bulma nodded. "Kami! I can't believe I forgot!" she cried suddenly, clamping her hands over her mouth in shock. Rushing to her son's bed, she kissed him on the nose quickly and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "We'll be back later, sweetheart. I promise."

Taking Vegeta's hand, she gestured for Dr. Druck to begin Trunks' relocation and dashed out of the room, dragging Vegeta out behind her. "Where are we going, woman?" he asked her, confused at her sudden energy.

"We're going shopping and then we have to pick up my parents and Bra," Bulma replied. Vegeta winced slightly and wondered what was so important that they'd require the help of her – he shuddered - _parents. _

He must have said it out loud, because Bulma replied, "It's Trunks' birthday!" and Vegeta's eyes widened at the realisation. He'd completely lost track of the dates since Trunks' admission to West City Hospital and had forgotten that today was the 1st of May.

Trunks was fifteen years old today.

Fifteen was a pretty significant age in the Saiyan calendar. There was so much Vegeta and Trunks had to share on this occasion but Trunks wasn't even conscious for it.

Vegeta's eyes dropped to the ground, watching the tiles zoom underfoot as he and his mate walked briskly out of the hospital. His chest felt heavy and he gripped Bulma's hand a little tighter. Bulma paused and turned back to look at him, chewing on her lip, an unreadable expression shining in her blue eyes.

"I know," she whispered, softly, leaning forward to rest her head on his shoulder. "I wish he was with us to share it too."

Vegeta touched her arm in recognition and the pair fell into step again, moving a little distance from the hospital before Vegeta swept Bulma into his arms and flew upwards, heading for Capsule Corp.

Gritting his teeth determinedly and clutching his wife tighter, Vegeta picked up the pace.

No matter whether Trunks was awake or not, today had to be his best birthday _ever. _

-

A/N: Phew! Hope that wasn't too bad a comeback XD! I know it's a bit of a boring one but the next chapter will be better! Okay, so I admit, I haven't actually written the next chapter yet XD. It's not often I go back to stories I've already written and find stuff to add but this is an exception. Therefore, if anyone has any suggestions for the next one, I'm all ears! Or eyes lol XD! Just PM me or let me know in a review, okay?

And one last thing - I kept my side of the deal, Kaylee, now it's YOUR turn to update ;) XD!

Speak soon, people!

Love Racy

-x-


	8. Chapter 7: Birthday Surprises

A/N: What's up, people? I've finally got around to finishing this thing XD! Sorry about the last one. Damn filler, lol. This one (if I'm honest) is a bit of a filler too until you get to the end. But that's no excuse just to scroll down now and read what happens before reading back up, okay?! Anyway, I'll let you guys get on and read now XD. Enjoy!

* * *

Birthday Surprises

"Should we ask Goten if he'd like to be there?" Bulma asked, walking out of the huge supermarket clutching bags of helium balloons and foil banners reading "Happy 15th Birthday".

Vegeta shook his head, trying desperately to tune out the high-pitched giggling of Bunny Briefs trailing behind them with her husband and Bra.

"Why bother?" he asked his wife. "It's not like he'll be awake. I'm not dealing with Kakarot's spawn blubbing in my presence."

Bulma rolled her eyes and pushed Vegeta's shoulder as they came to a stop in front of the car and waited for Dr. Briefs to find the keys.

"Have a heart, Vegeta!" she cried. "Goten is his best friend! I think it's okay for him to cry!"

Vegeta shrugged, not really caring. After all, he couldn't talk. Only two weeks previously he himself had cried over his son's condition. Unconsciously clenching his fists in irritation, he picked up the bags Bulma had dropped to the floor and loaded them into the boot of the car when Dr. Briefs finally located the keys.

"Fine then, we won't invite Goten. It's probably for the best anyway," Bulma said, airily, strapping her daughter in and proceeding to clamber in after her.

Vegeta joined her at the other side of the car, their bubbly blue-haired daughter cooing in between them. Dr. Briefs and Bunny got in the front and Vegeta fought to control his Flight instinct. It was no secret that he wasn't a fan of Dr. Briefs' erratic driving.

As they pulled away, Bra began to chirp happily, muttering on about everything and anything, throwing her tiny arms wide. She caught Vegeta's shoulder and Vegeta felt his pulse slackening at the warm touch of his little girl. Taking her small hand in his large one, he began tickling her palm in a circular motion, making Bra squirm and giggle.

Vegeta smirked and he caught his wife's eye. Bulma had one eyebrow raised and a smirk was planted on her lips. Vegeta scowled and turned away. He was only doing this to calm himself.

Bulma looked at him sceptically. That was it?

_Right? _

Bulma laughed and her mother turned in her seat to look at her. "What's so funny, Bulma?" she asked. Bulma just shook her head, in silent hysterics.

Bunny Briefs tilted her head, confused, and Vegeta had to fight from laughing at her idiocy. Bulma sat up, her cheeks red from laughing and began stroking her daughters head. Vegeta rolled his eyes at his spoilt daughter. Bra removed her hand and tried in vain to face her mother.

"Mama, is we going to visit Trunks?" the little girl asked.

"You say 'are we', Bra. And yes, we are. You'll like that, getting to see your big bro," Bulma informed her, almost sounding as if she was trying to assure herself as well as her daughter.

Bra shrugged and sniffed. "S'pose so," she said, thoughtfully. "But not if he's boring like last time. He was sleeping!" Bra exclaimed, almost incredulously.

Bulma smiled but her eyes were tight and Vegeta could see the sadness behind them. With a gentler tone, Bra asked, "Will he be awake this time, Mommy?"

Biting her lip, Bulma couldn't face her and she looked out of the car window. Vegeta felt a rare ounce of sympathy for the woman and turned Bra back to face him. Bra was delighted at her father's undivided attention and quickly forgot about her comatose sibling.

-

The rest of the ride to the hospital passed in relative silence. With the exception of the radio station blaring out 80's tunes, there was little noise. They came to a halt in the hospital Drop Off bay outside reception.

"Your mother and I will park the car, Bulma. You go ahead without us. I'm sure we'll manage and if not, you can ring me on that infernal contraption you insisted on buying me for my birthday," Dr. Briefs said.

Bulma laughed as she climbed out of the car and helped her daughter out next to her. "It's a mobile, Dad," she giggled. Dr. Briefs didn't look convinced and Bulma shook her head as she unloaded their earlier purchases. When they were all safely on the ground next to her, Bunny Briefs waved and they drove off in direction of the Day Visitors car park.

Gathering their shopping in one hand and taking Bra's hand in the other, Bulma and Vegeta began making their way back to hospital.

Quickly learning that Trunks was being moved to Room 687 on the Coma Ward, Bulma and Vegeta made their way over to the lift, punched in G-Level and began their ascent. Thank Kami Dr. Briefs had had the bright idea to park outside the East entrance. They'd have been stuck if they'd had to trek across the entire hospital, particularly with a 4-year-old child who was already tired of walking.

Gradually, the lift halted and the family stepped out and immediately into the coma ward. Another tinier reception was waiting for them and Bulma rushed over there at once.

"Hi," she greeted the bored receptionist. "My name is Bulma Briefs and my son is being moved up here today. I was wondering whether it would be possible to allow myself and my husband in there to decorate it for him?" she enquired, lifting up her bags of shopping as proof.

The receptionist looked as though she'd heard it all before. "Sorry, but no one gets in before the patient and their accompanying doctor. Who knows what you could have planned in there?" she explained, suspiciously.

Bulma shook her heard. "Now just you look here! It's his birthday and my son has been unconscious for…" Bulma's voice trailed off as a figure appeared in the corridor.

"Quite right, Mrs. Briefs!" the man called out. Vegeta hissed subconsciously and tucked his daughter behind him. Coming down to the desk to greet them, the gentleman stuck his hand out in greeting.

He was a lively man, with a thick grey beard and fluffy grey hair. His green eyes twinkled manically and he seemed to exert a sort of energy, even when standing still.

"I'm Dr. Evers," he informed them. Ushering Bulma and Vegeta in the other direction, he began to lead them to Room 687. "Now, I've taken a look at Trunks' record and, taking into account his _particular _lineage, I believe there are a number of tests more effective that we could run in order to help treat Trunks' unusual condition."

"I understand that today is Trunks' birthday," Dr. Evers continued. "And that you have a little…soiree of sorts planned. By all means, I think this is a great idea. A good enough surprise can actually bring one out of a coma, you know."

Bulma gasped and glanced at her husband. Vegeta frowned in response. Surprises waking people up? It sounded very far-fetched. Dr. Evers glanced at their disbelieving faces and grinned.

"Now, now, I know what you both are thinking. Please don't get your hopes up for nothing. It's only very rarely that patients awaken. Nevertheless! It's always worth a try, right?!" the doctor cried, walking briskly.

Vegeta swept up his daughter as she began to lag behind and glanced again at Bulma. She just shrugged and shook her head. Both were dumfounded by the enthusiastic doctor.

Finally, they came to a stop in front of Room 687. It was much like the room in the ICU, except perhaps a little larger and held a slightly more cosy design. It looked inviting, for a hospital room. Bulma stepped in and surveyed it.

"Is it okay if we begin decorating?" Bulma asked, turning back to Dr. Evers. He nodded vigorously.

"I reckon you've got a good half an hour before your son arrives. When he gets here, we'll see what happens and then we'll run some more tests, okay?" he replied.

Bulma nodded. It suited her. Laying the bags down on the hospital bed, Bulma gestured for Vegeta to shut the door behind him and start putting banners on the wall.

Bra tottered in, her nose wrinkled and she tugged at her father's hand. "Daddy, I don't like the smell," she told him, rubbing her nose.

Bulma smiled. With her Saiyan senses, that horrible smell of disinfectant was probably three times as potent to the young Saiyan princess. Curious as to Vegeta's response, Bulma stopped pumping up a balloon and watched her husband and daughter.

Vegeta crouched down to her level and pinched her nose. Bra snuffled indignantly and tried to wiggle free but her father's grip was like iron. Bulma wasn't worried – she knew Vegeta wouldn't harm their little girl.

Eventually, as the need for oxygen increased, Bra's mouth dropped open and she took in a lungful of air. Vegeta nodded and stood up.

"Breathe through your mouth," he told her. Bra nodded and the three began working in silence, Bra's loud breathing being the only sound.

-

Within half an hour, the room was ready. Banners hung from every wall and balloons decorated the corners. They had even pinned fairy lights to the metal headboard of the hospital bed, although Bulma was sure these would probably be removed later on regardless.

Everything was ready. All that was needed now was the birthday boy. Just as Bulma was adjusting a little kiddie size party hat on Bra's head, the door opened.

Dr. Evers walked in and surveyed the decorated room appreciatively. "Very good job, I must say," he said. "Anyway, you should know that Trunks is on his way up as we speak. When he gets here, I want you all to shout 'Happy Birthday' at the top of your voices."

Vegeta snorted. He wouldn't be caught dead doing that. Bulma rolled her eyes and sighed. "Looks like you'll have to lend a hand, Dr. Evers," she told him, glaring at Vegeta.

The doctor chuckled. "Very good, very good," he said.

The metal door handle clicked and a nurse stepped in and pulled the door wide. Dr. Evers looked excited.

"Okay, everyone – on the count of three…ONE, TWO…THREE!" he counted as Trunks' bed appeared in the doorway.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Bulma, Dr. Evers and young Bra cried at the top of their lungs. Vegeta rolled his eyes but quietly uttered the Saiyan equivalent under his breath.

Trunks still looked as he had earlier. Pale, sweaty and tired but neither the doctor nor his parents failed to notice the small jerk of his body under the thin hospital sheets.

Dr. Evers clapped his hands as the team of nurses positioned Trunks on a makeshift stretcher and laid him down on his new bed.

Rushing over, Dr. Evers pulled a black stethoscope from around his neck and listened to Trunks' heart. "Hmmm…Is it a Saiyan trait to have a particularly fast heart rate?" he asked Vegeta.

Vegeta said nothing and walked over to the bed and snatched the stethoscope from Dr. Evers and listened for himself.

Handing it back, he turned away. "Slightly quick," Vegeta informed the doctor and he nodded.

"Okay then," Dr. Evers replied sombrely. Pulling a tiny torch light from his pocket, he gently rolled up Trunks eyelids and shined the light in, watching for his pupils to contract. An agonising half-second passed before Dr. Evers saw the heartening motion of Trunks' pupils getting smaller. This was the most progress seen in Trunks' condition since he'd first been admitted!

"Aha! Wonderful! Now Trunks, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm going to pinch your skin and see if I can provoke a reaction from you, okay?" Dr. Evers told the unconscious teenager before raising Trunks' left arm.

"Here goes," he muttered. Gently at first, Dr. Evers took some of Trunks' skin between his thumb and index finger and squeezed. Gradually, he began to apply pressure.

A couple of seconds in, Trunks' body jerked again. Startled, Bulma rushed to Vegeta's side and gripped his arm, chewing anxiously on her lip, unable to tear her eyes off their son.

Dr. Evers gave one last final pinch and then the unexpected happened. Various apparatus pulling out of his body as he did so, Trunks shot upright, eyes wide and glazed over with a filmy mist.

Dr. Evers stepped back to view the teenage boy, just as Bulma and Vegeta stepped forward, both wearing equal expressions of shock. Bulma found her voice and took a deep breath, eyes never leaving her son's face.

"_Trunks?_"

* * *

A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUN! Lol, I hope everyone enjoyed that one. I've yet to write the next chapter but it'll probably be up on Tuesday. Also, you people really are awesome :). The amount of people saying how glad they were I was back was really incredible and I love you guys for that :D. Until next time, peeps.

Speak soon! ^-^

Love Racy

-x-

P.S. Anyone waiting for **A Year Without You**, it will probably be up sometime next week :). Byes!


	9. Chapter 8: Something's Wrong

A/N: Gah! My internet is about to bugger up on me again, I know it ¬_¬ so I'll have to make this quick. Anyway, what's happening people?! So sorry about the whole 'promised-I-would-update-and-then-blatantly-not-update' thing. Yeah, I went on two really awesome sleepovers, bought a new phone, got ill and promptly got writers block and then went to Coventry for two days. Oh, and we had a power cut last Thursday and my internet just hasn't been the same since :'(.

I know, lame excuses. But they are true. This chapter was a real 'insert-curse-word-here' to write and I'm still not sure I've done it justice. You don't find out exactly what happens to Trunks in this chapter, so sorry for that, but it has a little bit of action and I bring someone back because I couldn't resist ^-^! If anyone cares, I actually wrote two versions of this chapter and picked this one to finish and post but, like I said, if anyone cares, I'm quite happy to finish up my other one and send it to you, so lemme know, okay :)?

Jeez, I thought I said I was gonna make it quick. Damn. Lol, enjoy!

* * *

Something's Wrong

Bulma rushed to her son's bedside, elation on her delicate features. "Oh, Kami! Trunks! You're awake! This is…amazing!" Bulma began breaking down as she got the first glimpse of her son's eyes in almost a month.

But something was wrong with them.

Trunks' eyes were glazed over. They had been delicately coated in a pale haze that gave one the impression that he was blind. Yet, Trunks didn't behave as though he'd lost his sight.

Gently rising off the bed, Trunks pushed himself up and shuffled forward a few paces, gazing around the room. There was an expression of terror plastered on his face and it was easy to see the beads of sweat on his forehead, only partially hidden by dishevelled purple hair that had been deprived of a trim for almost a month.

His mouth was partly open, as if he was contemplating whether or not to scream. The paper hospital gown clung to his thinning frame inadequately. Now that he was stood, it was obvious that the hospital hadn't been feeding him properly. As a half-Saiyan, he should've been consuming roughly three or four times what the hospital were offering. He looked like a street orphan from the Victorian Age.

He looked like a lost child.

Vegeta watched his son curiously and he frowned. _Something's wrong…._

Bulma rushed to her son's side as he tried to walk, a little put-out by his lack of attention. "Are you alright, sweetheart? Do you need something?" she asked, grabbing his arm. Trunks looked down at his mother's steady hands on his arm and his expression melted into one of extreme anger.

Vegeta's face became a mask of horror as he caught sight of Trunks' own face and he hurried forward, afraid for his mate's safety.

"_Bulma!"_

She turned to look at her husband, slightly confused and frightened by Trunks' behaviour. But before she could say anything, Trunks had spun her into the air and sent her crashing against the hospital wall. Bulma screamed as she hurtled through the air but went silent as her head rammed into the concrete.

She sank to the floor and Bra, who had been watching quietly from the corner, screamed and rushed to her mother's side.

"Mommy! Mommy! Get up, Mommy! Mama! Please, please, please…" Bra's frantic voice trailed off and she began to sob as Dr. Evers gently nudged her aside in order to treat Bulma. He pulled her forward and Vegeta's stomach lurched at the heavy trail of blood his wife's head had left coated on the wall.

Growling, he turned back to his son who had idly strolled to the window. He was swaying and looked unsteady.

"Boy!" Vegeta barked, but Trunks appeared unable to hear him. Hissing, Vegeta stalked forward and grabbed his son's shoulders and forcefully turned Trunks to face him. Trunks was the lost child again. He looked like he was caught in a nightmare.

_That's it! _Vegeta thought, with sudden inspiration. _He's not fully conscious!_

Dr. Evers stood up and shut his mobile phone, having just called for assistance. His white lab coat was spattered with blood. Bulma lay on the floor in the recovery position. The doctor was clutching Bra's hand, a coy distraction so she couldn't accidently injure Bulma further.

"That's the best I can do for now!" The kind doctor sounded frantic. "I need to get her down to A&E or the Head and Neck Injury ward, at the very least!" Vegeta nodded his response; he was too busy focusing on not snapping Trunks' shoulders, which he still held between his hands.

"Try and wake your son up, Mr. Briefs. It's plain as day that he's not properly conscious. Take him far away from here and get him to wake up or try and figure out what he's seeing that would cause him to injure his own mother or look like he's about to be attacked," Dr. Evers gestured to Trunks' scared expression and trembling body. Vegeta sensed that the doctor was about to say something more and waited.

"If you can't do that-" Dr. Evers said, eventually. "-Then put him back into a coma, Mr. Briefs." Vegeta flinched at the doctor's hard words. Even if Trunks was hurting his family, Vegeta was sure it wasn't on purpose. He didn't relish the idea of beating his own son around the head. That just wasn't right. Could he even do it?

_What if I kill my own son? _Vegeta wondered, fearfully. He glanced down at Trunks, who was shaking.

_How would I live with myself? _

It wasn't the first time he'd had to ask himself that question.

Nodding gravely, Vegeta took one last look at his wife who was moaning on the floor and his weeping daughter. He had to do this. Swallowing, he blasted through the wall, carrying Trunks, and flew in the direction of Capsule Corp.

* * *

It didn't usually take long to fly halfway across West City, a couple of seconds, maybe less. Today was a whole new ball game. Everytime Vegeta hit a certain speed, Trunks would scream, clutching his head. This irritated Vegeta, to say the least. His son was still ill and answers were taking too long to reach.

Finally though, they touched down in Capsule Corp's extensive garden. Vegeta chucked Trunks to the ground and he rolled in agony. Swiftly pulling him up again, Vegeta slammed Trunks into the side of the domed house.

"Wake up!" he demanded. He got no response other than a whimper. Shaking his son violently, he kicked him into the air before rising above him and slamming him back into the earth, creating a small crater in the process.

"Are you awake now!?" Vegeta chided. Vegeta recalled his son's younger years when he would've used the exact same moves if Trunks wasn't out of bed quick enough in time for training. Usually though, Trunks was awake halfway down the stairs and, by the time they reached the garden, he was mostly powered up too.

Now was different. Trunks was trapped in some sort of waking coma and he was as weak as a human, his unconscious state suppressing his ki energy.

When Vegeta got no response, he backed off, pacing and clenching his fists in irritation. Trunks lay in the dirt shivering, no closer to consciousness. His hands covered his eyes and he twitched, as if someone was giving him false blows.

_Damn it, think! _Vegeta growled to himself. There was no way he was going to be able to wake Trunks up. At least not with force. That much was obvious. It would have to be stealth then. If he could just figure out what Trunks was seeing! Figure out what was suspending him in the realm between dreams and reality. Figure it out – and stop it.

_But what?! _Vegeta thought, trying to force himself to picture anything that might be able to help, anything that could help him solve this problem. Eyes wide as he realised, Vegeta dashed over to his son. That was it!

Gently gathering Trunks in his arms, Vegeta couldn't help but reflect bitterly on the last time his son had been conscious. They'd ended up in exactly the same situation – Vegeta lifting him off the floor, beaten and sick.

_Is this some sort of…premonition? _He wondered, unsure. _Am I destined to always be the one to pick you back up, boy?_

Vegeta hoped not. Shutting his eyes, he shivered slightly as he wondered if there would ever come a time when Trunks couldn't be helped back up. If there would ever come a time that Trunks would be too broken for the pieces to be put back together. Squeezing his eyes tighter to stop the onslaught of memories of his future son flooding his mind, Vegeta focused on the task at hand.

Bulma's lab – that's where they had to be.

But it appeared that Trunks wasn't a fan of that idea. Suddenly alarmed, Trunks flipped out of his father's arms and stood a little way away, glaring at his father. Vegeta frowned and his eyes tightened. What was the kid's problem?

Trunks slowly shuffled to rearrange himself, dropping into fighting stance. Vegeta clenched his jaw. Did he want a fight?

Without waiting for Vegeta to compose himself, Trunks shot forward, rage blazing in his cloudy eyes. He swung his fist which Vegeta just managed to avoid. Catching his son's elbows in self-defence as Trunks tried to ram him in the ribs, Vegeta looked his son straight in the eye. Vegeta could see no reason there; no reason and no remorse. But they were filled with determination. In fact, Trunks was looking at his father as if…as if…

_As if Vegeta were an enemy._

Letting out an exasperated breath, Vegeta decided he'd play by Trunks' rules. If it was a fight he wanted, he'd get it.

Quickly transforming to Super Saiyan, Vegeta watched as Trunks did the same. But something was off about Trunks' ascended form. The usually-stunning electric gold hair that Trunks acquired in this form was bland. It was a dull, dark blonde, not right at all, and, while it stood upright, it looked as though it could collapse at any second.

His tanned complexion was wrong too, pale and translucent. The eyes were the worst though. The shining aqua, typical of Super Saiyans, hadn't applied to Trunks' form. His eyes were bright green, almost emerald. Trunks didn't look like a Super Saiyan at all. If anything, he looked like a dreamed-up version or a copy from a withering memory.

_Like a dream…_

And what with the waking nightmare Trunks seemed to be living at the moment, Vegeta decided that that was too much of a coincidence. Flying forward, Vegeta decided he couldn't allow his son to mobilise. He struck the teenager across the jaw and sent him sprawling into the side of the house. Wincing, Vegeta knew Bulma would have something to say about _that _when she got home.

Recalling his wife's injuries, Vegeta gritted his teeth. Gripping Trunks' hair, he gloated, "I haven't gotten you back for that yet. Consider this your punishment!" before kicking him into the air and using a ki blast to shoot him back into the side of the house again.

Standing up, Trunks swayed slightly and looked as though he could collapse at any moment. But he shook his head and roared, a thick wave of energy exerting from his body. Both father and son shot forward at the same moment and the impact as they collided shook the whole compound.

So began a sequence of punches, kicks and dodges and Vegeta was growing more and more agitated. His son didn't appear to be showing any signs of slowing down. Normally, Vegeta would've been proud but, with his own ki dropping lower and lower, it wasn't helping that Trunks didn't appear to be fatigued.

Eventually, luck turned the fight in Vegeta's favour. Seizing the opportunity, Vegeta grabbed Trunks around the neck and held tight while the boy struggled. Slowly, as Trunks' oxygen level decreased, he lost his warped Super Saiyan form and, aside from the shaking, was quiet.

Dropping Trunks to the floor, Vegeta steadied himself as he too reverted back to normal. His nose and lip were bleeding and he was covered in bruises and possibly had a fractured wrist and a few cracked ribs but those were just minor injuries.

A burst of ki displaced the air as someone landed beside Vegeta on the now-matted grass.

"Hey, Vegeta. What happened here? I was on my way over when I felt your ki but I didn't think it was this bad!" the other warrior exclaimed as he surveyed the tarnished garden.

"Save it," Vegeta breathed. "You didn't get here on time, Kakarot."

* * *

A/N: Couldn't resist XD! I always reckon he and Vegeta work well together. I love the episode where they're inside Majin Buu. Ah, good times...Lol, anyway, I apologise beforehand for any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes. Usually, my chapters go through like one hell of a 'screening' thing and I check for mistakes and then do the same thing the next day and the next and the next...for about 4 or 5 days (not that it probably makes any difference XD!) and I am normally able to get rid of the obvious ones. So yeah, spot anything off, just give me a shout and I'll sort it.

That reminds me. For those of you that have this story on Story Alert, you may see the Prologue flash up in your inbox again. Don't worry about it, I just have a huge mistake I spotted a couple of days back that needs correcting and what I'm going to do is delete the whole thing and re-post. I won't tell you guys what it is (although you may have noticed already - it's so bad!) but just a heads-up.

Okay, I'm going now because, frankly, I talk way too much XD! Next update will be either Thursday or this weekend and that goes for the second chapter of** A Year Without You**. Sorry about that, people :'(. Severe writer's block but I think I've got something so wish me luck XD!

Speak soon! ^-^  
Love Racy  
-x-

So...Reviews :D?


	10. Chapter 9: Unravelling the Mystery

A/N: Ew, what's with all the dust and cobwebs in here? Come on, who's been slacking off? Oh, yeah. I know. Me.

Hi, guys. How long's it been? A month? I am really, really, really sorry :'(. I caught a case of crippling self-consciousness and just...couldn't write. That's the best way to describe it. Despite the amazing reviews you awesome people have given me, I went through this massive "No-one likes my stories/they're boring and I'll never write again" type of thing. But, thanks to the help of some great friends (I'm looking at you, **DonSani** ;) XD) I've regained some of my old confidence, finished this up this morning and plucked up the courage to post it.

Not to mention, my internet (as any of my friends will tell you) has been really, REALLY ANNOYING! Ugh! I swear to God, it's doing my head in. Plus, I went to Berlin and recieved some nasty news on Wednesday. So, yeah. Alright! I get it! Stop looking at me like that! Lame excuses, but they are true :).

Forgives? :) Lol, enjoy!

* * *

Unravelling the Mystery

Goku just shrugged, it wasn't his fault. "What happened to Trunks?" Goku asked, gesturing to the limp teenager on the grass. Vegeta's eyes tightened, he still had no idea himself.

"Make yourself useful, Kakarot," Vegeta sneered, ignoring Goku's question. He didn't exactly _want_ the younger Saiyan's help, but it _was _rather convenient that he'd shown up when he had. What Vegeta was about to do couldn't be done alone.

Vegeta grabbed Trunks' arms and Goku followed suit and picked up his legs. Between the two of them, they began to carry Trunks indoors where Vegeta, apparently, had a plan.

"So where are we taking him, Vegeta?" Goku asked. He was still a bit concerned about Vegeta's previous behaviour. After all, it _had_ involved annihilating everything in South City and requiring the help of Shenron and fabricating a huge story to explain the whole damn thing. Kami knew Goku wasn't the best at fabricating a good lie.

"Bulma's lab," Vegeta replied, shortly. He didn't want to say why out loud - he was terrified his idea would fail - but he knew the inevitable question was coming.

"Why there?" Goku asked. Vegeta cringed – the moment had arrived sooner than he'd thought. Glancing over at his former rival, Vegeta sighed.

"A little after Buu, I had…_nightmares_," Vegeta began. He wasn't comfortable with sharing these memories; it was something that, until now, had been kept a secret between him and Bulma. Goku blinked at the Saiyan Prince in surprise. It was difficult to imagine the proud warrior being plagued by things like bad dreams.

"I'd dream about what it could've been like if I'd stayed under Babidi's spell," he continued, practically spitting inside. He shouldn't be admitting something like this, not to an old enemy, but he feared it was the only way he could get Goku to understand.

"After a while, I was sleep-walking and genuinely believing I was still under Babidi's influence," Vegeta swallowed gently; the hardest part was coming up. "I dreamt that I murdered my family one night and very nearly did in reality." Vegeta's voice was barely a whisper and he glanced down at his son's pale, catatonic face.

He could recall clearly the fight that had ensued between Trunks and himself when Trunks was eleven. Vegeta had almost slaughtered his wife and newborn daughter by mistake and Trunks had flown into action, knocking Vegeta to the ground and beginning a fight that left them both in Capsule Corp's Medical Wing for two weeks.

"Woah!" Goku looked stunned. This was all news to him! "What did you do?"

"Bulma came up with something. It's a machine, designed to infiltrate the subconscious mind and allow you to interact with the person inside. If you can solve the issues that are keeping the person from reality, you can wake them up and stop them from dreaming," Vegeta explained.

Goku looked at him blankly. "That sounds…technical," he admitted, scratching at his hair in confusion.

"Relax, fool," Vegeta smirked. "I just need you to push a few buttons and hold him down in case things start to go wrong. Can you handle that, Kakarot?" Vegeta asked, his voice taking on that patronising tone that everyone was familiar with.

Goku brightened. "Sure thing, Vegeta," he replied, pleased that whatever he had to do wouldn't be too difficult.

* * *

Soon enough, Vegeta and Goku reached the lower levels of Bulma's lab. It wasn't often that his wife deemed her experiments dangerous enough to be sent down here, but Vegeta knew that with something like the mind, you could never be too careful.

The machine itself wasn't particularly special. It had a flat metal table for the subject to be strapped to and a rather boring plastic helmet and monocle for the person going inside the mind to wear. There was a thick glass shield, separating the subject and his 'helper' from the person operating the machinery.

Long coloured cables ran the length of the table, waiting to be attached to pressure points on the subject's body. Laying Trunks down, Vegeta began to stick the ends of the cables to Trunks' body. He worked quickly, attaching them to places like his chest and wrists. He stuck the final two to each of Trunks' temples and stepped back.

"Kakarot!" Vegeta barked. Goku ambled over, having been checking out the control panel that he was, supposedly, going to operate. Goku leaned over the shorter Saiyan and felt his face contort in sympathy for the poor boy lying on the table. It wasn't right for him to be like this.

Vegeta had placed the helmet on and was adjusting the monocle that covered one eye. "Listen up, Kakarot. This thing only covers one eye so I can see into his dreams as well as my current surroundings. I'll know when things are getting out of hand and I'll tell you when to push that blue button there," Vegeta explained, gesturing to the control panel.

"That's all you need to do. Can you do it?" Vegeta asked, seriously doubting it. To his surprise, Goku nodded vigorously, his face set in a serious expression.

_At least he knows this is no time for jokes, _Vegeta thought. Reaching over and hitting a different button, a huge spotlight flicked on and shined down over Trunks' still form. Vegeta felt his stomach twist. In all his years, he'd witnessed blood and death, whole planets destroyed under his touch, but he knew in that one instant as he glanced at his son that he'd live it all again if it meant he would never again have to witness his son like he was now.

Taking a deep breath, Vegeta stepped back towards the table and hit a small red switch on his helmet to turn it, and the attached monocle, on.

Instantly, he felt himself sucked into a deep, black abyss. It was cold and dark and it reeked of an overwhelming sadness. Shutting the eye that was still exposed to reality, Vegeta began to walk around. It was a disconcerting feeling; walking through someone's mind but remaining perfectly still in real life. Vegeta knew this was down to the small plate embedded in the floor where he was stood.

The ground was dry and cracked, leaving Vegeta to stumble every few steps. A slight, icy breeze swirled through the endless black and it set Vegeta on edge. He stopped for a moment, trying to figure out where Trunks was and how to get to him.

That was when he heard it.

A small sob echoed through the darkness. It spun and swirled in the bleak atmosphere and Vegeta could literally taste the broken notes of its music. He tried to follow it but it seemed to be coming from all possible directions. Focusing his mind, he could hear it coming more sharply from the North than any other direction and began sprinting towards it.

As he ran, Vegeta could feel the atmosphere changing. It was becoming thick and heavy and running felt like blocks of concrete had been tied to Vegeta's legs. He slowed down and surveyed his new surroundings. It was foggy – so much so, that Vegeta felt like he was inhaling it. It was a sickening, choking taste. It reminded him of the stench of burning flesh.

Gagging slightly and trying to breathe through his mouth, Vegeta knew that this was the part of the mind that was most broken. Vegeta guessed that the fog must be some sort of mental representation of Trunks' illness. Holding his arms out in case he walked into anything, Vegeta stepped forward – and kicked something.

A shrill, bitter cry from the earth split the fog and revealed a small child sat on the floor. It was definitely Trunks, although maybe hadn't been for at least the last seven years. This Trunks looked about eight years old. He was thin and scruffy, wearing filmy white clothes and his purple hair waving in all directions.

He seemed to be sulking. He was cross-legged on the floor and had his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Vegeta bent down to his level and lightly tapped him on the head. Trunks looked up, mumbled something and then went back to the exact same position.

"Trunks!" Vegeta shouted, demanding the boy's full attention. Trunks looked up, glaring.

"Fine, fine!" he yelled.

Vegeta almost smirked. The boy hadn't changed much since he'd grown. Both of them stood up and surveyed each other, both wearing identical expressions, critical of the other.

"What happened here?" Vegeta asked his son, unsure of where to start. He hated the way this dense place warped his voice. Young Trunks' lip quivered and he looked afraid.

"I dunno, Dad!" he replied, urgently. Vegeta's heart swelled at the title children on Earth gave their male parents. At least he wasn't unrecognisable.

"I was a memory! I'm not supposed to be here! But, but, but this thing came-" Young Trunks gestured to the fog around them. "-and I was sucked out! I tried to fight it but it's way powerful! It doesn't even blink!" He exclaimed, incredulously.

If it weren't for the dire severity of the situation, Vegeta would have smiled at his son's explanation. The child rushed to his father's side and grabbed his arm tightly. _Damn, _Vegeta thought. _You were a strong kid, Trunks. _Vegeta knew that, if Trunks had done that now and that _tight, _he might have broken Vegeta's arm.

"How can we get rid of it?" Vegeta asked. Young Trunks just shrugged. "I want to go back to my mom," he whimpered. Vegeta blanched. "Your _mother's _here?!" he sputtered in shock.

Young Trunks nodded. "Uh-huh. She was in the memory I was in," Young Trunks told his father. "I wanna go back there."

Vegeta put a hand to his temple and rubbed. What was supposed to be a mission to save Trunks' mind from collapse, seemed to be turning into a babysitting session.

"Where's your mother, kid? I'll take you to her but first you need to tell me where we are," Vegeta demanded.

Young Trunks bobbed up and down, happily. "Sure, sure, sure! I think we're in the conscious bit. I'm not sure totally, but this looks way different to the memory part and the dream bit," Young Trunks explained. It was good enough for Vegeta.

"Let's go then."

Young Trunks wooped and then took off running. He didn't seem to be affected at all by the heavy pressure of the fog. Vegeta frowned in confusion and then he noticed. Young Trunks wasn't wearing white clothes at all. He was wearing a green top and red shorts. It was his body that was white. Young Trunks had no more substance than one of those Earthling superstitions.

_What were they called? _Vegeta wondered.

_Ghosts._

_That's it._

His son was a ghost. Glancing down at his arm and wondering why he had felt Young Trunks grab it, he realised that Young Trunks hadn't grabbed it at all. It was the fog coiling round his arm that he had felt, not his son's touch. In fact, everywhere Young Trunks _had_ touched (including Vegeta's foot where he had kicked him earlier), was being tightened around by fog.

Vegeta frowned. This boy was no memory. He was a figment of the fog, created so as to ensnare Vegeta in the same way it had his real son. Hissing, Vegeta ascended to Super Saiyan and felt the pressure on his foot and arm instantly vanish. Running through the fog, Vegeta made his way to Young Trunks.

"Why would you have it try to capture me like that?!" Vegeta growled. The little boy's demeanour instantly changed.

"No, no, no! I'm sorry, Dad, so sorry! Help me, Daddy! Help!" Young Trunks panicked. Vegeta's eyes widened. The fog was slowly surrounding his son and gently dissipating his ghostly figure. The child was screaming in terror, his small, translucent arms flailing. Vegeta leaned out to grab his son but his hands slipped right through Young Trunks' skin and the fog whipped him back.

Falling out of the fog and back onto the barren landscape, Vegeta's flashing ki illuminated the terrifying scene. The little boy was being sucked away, his face being warped and literally…_melting _into fog. As the fog engulfed his face, the boy screamed one last piercing scream that forced Vegeta to cover his ears and bounced off the parched earth, cracking it further and pulling up great lumps of mud.

As the last strand of lilac hair disappeared, the fog retained its original form, swaying slightly. Gentle waves of grey rolled across its surface and reminded Vegeta of the ocean. His son had, quite literally, _drowned. _

Leaning back on the ground, Vegeta let his Super Saiyan form drop and tried to control his quick panting. His eyes moistened slightly at the loss of Young Trunks. Ghost child or not, Young Trunks was exactly that. _His child. _And just like every other version of Trunks Vegeta had known, he'd been cruelly snatched away.

Just as Vegeta was about to let himself dissolve into sobs, something stirred behind him.

"Frightening, isn't it?" a voice said.

Scrunching his eyes for a moment, Vegeta stood up and took on the fighting stance. He saw the figure up ahead and relaxed in surprise.

"You!"

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know, you don't have to say it. My cliffhangers are really annoying. This one is only teeny though and the next chapter will be up by next week/weekend so you don't have to worry. I'm not going to say exactly when I think it will be out anymore because, let's face it, I never do put it up when I say i will. But sometime next week, so keep your eyes open!!!

Also, if anyone can guess who it is then you can have some cyber-cookies ^_^ (::) (sorry Kaylee, but I don't know how to 'computer-draw' any other cyber-confectionery XD) but be warned, the answer is most definitely not as easy as it may appear.

Before I go, as to **A Year Without You**, I'm not sure if I will be continuing that one :(. Really sorry to anyone that cared but still suffering from self-confidentitus (awesome made-up illness alert!) on that one and may not be continued. I shall try hard but don't get your hopes up.

Okay, speak soon, everyone! ^-^

Love Racy

-x-


	11. Chapter 10: Friend or Foe?

_UPDATE: No worries, just made some changes that a few people pointed out. Thanks to everyone who picked up on my mistakes :). _

_*****_

_A/N: Hello again, everybody! Sorry about updating late...AGAIN! I actually had it all finished and ready to go up on Saturday but, unfortunately, my internet has been down for the past three days and is still a bit dodgy today. Sorry about that but it's here now so let's hear some positivity :D! So did any of you guys guess right? Who's our mystery character, eh? Read down and find out...._

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

**Friend or Foe?**

Before Vegeta stood Trunks.

Except, it wasn't.

It was the Trunks from earlier; the Trunks that had access to some half-assed copy of a Super Saiyan. His pale blonde hair swayed unsteadily, matching the rhythm of the foggy ocean behind the Saiyan Prince. He wore no shirt; only filmy white trousers like Young Trunks had appeared to wear earlier. His piercing green eyes were like lanterns in the black air.

Vegeta was instantly put on guard. Correcting his posture, he braced himself for a fight with this Dream Trunks. Dream Trunks just chuckled, the sound echoing through the darkened chamber of Trunks' mind.

"Geez, Dad," he said, his voice metallic. "I'm not here to fight you."

"If I recall correctly, you tried to kill me earlier!" Vegeta spat, clenching his ready fist tighter.

Dream Trunks rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Right. And now, I'm here to lend a hand."

Vegeta straightened slowly. He still didn't trust this version of his son but, right now, he didn't seem to have a choice.

"Tell me then, what is it?" Vegeta asked, getting straight down to business and gesturing to the fog behind him. Dream Trunks stepped forward and stood next to his father.

He had to admit; he was impressed. He honestly didn't believe his father would be the one to try and save Trunks' mind. Dream Trunks was only an essence of the actual boy himself, but he knew well the feeling of inadequacy that Actual Trunks experienced in his father's presence.

"I think it's the illness," Dream Trunks replied. Vegeta nodded. It was exactly as he had thought earlier.

"So…how do we get rid of it?!" Vegeta snapped, his patience wearing. Dream Trunks shook his head.

"Nope, not yet. This is easily dealt with," Dream Trunks explained, waving his arm through the fog and using his aura to dissipate its hold when it clasped his wrist. "We've got other problems."

Vegeta closed his eyes, momentarily exhausted. It was no mean feat, entering someone's mind. He'd wanted this to be a quick trip. Of course, it was just his luck that he'd have to solve something else!

"Like what?" he wondered aloud.

Dream Trunks looked sheepish and Vegeta felt a pang of guilt as he remembered seeing the exact same look on Actual Trunks' face the day he'd attacked his school teacher.

_And collapsed, _Vegeta thought, unhappily.

"Well, we both know that me and you haven't got the best relationship," Dream Trunks looked down. "But it's my job to try and change that."

Vegeta looked sceptical. Surely, he could work out his son's problems when he woke up? What was the point of rifling through someone else's thoughts? Vegeta was a private person and he respected that in others – it seemed wrong to traipse through his son's mind when the problem was easily dealt with.

Vegeta said as much and Dream Trunks just shrugged. "Whatever. I haven't got time for this. I'm built from ki and just standing here is sapping your son's energy."

Vegeta saw red and slammed Dream Trunks backwards. "Are you telling me that you're the reason my son can't wake up?! Because you're eating up all of his energy?!" he yelled.

Dream Trunks landed on his feet and glared. "Blame yourself! I've been stuck here since Trunks went into a coma! Waiting for you, moron! If you'd got a move on and thought of this sooner, I wouldn't still be here!"

Vegeta paused. It was a fair point. Pulling his fists back down to his sides, he stepped forward and gestured to the strange variation of his son.

"Where do we need to start, then?" he asked.

Dream Trunks thought about it for a moment. "First off, you need to identify the problem. I already know-" Dream Trunks looked smug for a moment. "-but you don't. I can't help you help your son if you don't know what he needs help with, if that makes sense," he told his sort-of father, grinning.

Vegeta smirked for a moment, relishing in the sudden display of personality so like his real son. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have Dream Trunks along for the ride.

"Fine. Lead the way, boy," Vegeta commanded. Dream Trunks rolled his eyes and grabbed his father's arm. Vegeta was pleased to know that this particular Trunks at least seemed to have substance. There was a slight crackle and Vegeta's ears popped. They landed in mid-air in a completely different section of the mind.

It was alive with activity. Warped pictures were zooming past, all featuring either Vegeta, Bulma and Bra or Trunks' friends. They zoomed past at high speeds, each coloured with a certain tint. A low humming noise filled the air as hundreds versions of the same voices filtered through each picture. Vegeta guessed they must be memories.

"Welcome to the Inner Mind!" Dream Trunks cried happily, trying to imitate the chirpy (and frankly annoying) disposition that most holiday stewards had.

"Okay, so this is the memory part. Any memory that Trunks has ever had is all right here. You'll notice that some are different shades," Dream Trunks informed his father.

"They are emotions and were probably what Trunks was feeling at the time he was living the memory. Like this one-" Dream Trunks pulled a picture out from its warped cycle around the bright white sanctum. "-this one is green. It's tinted with jealousy. You know the saying 'green with envy', right?" Dream Trunks gave his father a lopsided grin.

Vegeta raised his eyebrows before nodding. He couldn't really see what Trunks had to be jealous about. The kid came from the richest family on the planet, not to mention royalty! He'd gotten everything he'd ever wanted; what else was there to have?

"Let's take a look at this one," Dream Trunks suggested. "After all, what could make the most spoiled child in the world jealous?" Dream Trunks grinned his lopsided smile again and Vegeta wondered if Dream Trunks could read his thoughts. Sticking his hand straight into the centre of the memory, Vegeta watched as it swirled quickly and became a vortex. Its gravitational pull was too strong to escape from and they were both sucked in.

A murmured buzzing noise ebbed around them as they approached the scene. The green tint still shaded the picture, but Vegeta could clearly see that it was a garden. It was Capsule Corp's garden, back in the summer almost three years ago, just when Bra had learnt to walk.

"Now, we can't disrupt the memory or else it'll completely shatter," Dream Trunks whispered, startling Vegeta. "But if we keep quiet and let it run its course, maybe you'll get a good insight into your son's life."

Gently, the inner pull began to slow and Vegeta realised that the buzzing noise he'd heard were the voices in the memory talking. Dream Trunks guided his father behind a tree and slowly dissipated, telling his father to watch in hushed metallic tones and to remember the colour.

_Colour? _Vegeta thought. He gazed at the memory and noticed the green haze.

_Of course! Jealousy…_

As the memory began to replay and Vegeta settled down to watch, he wondered what he would find that had turned his son green with envy…

* * *

_Bulma briskly walked into the back garden with her mother, both carrying trays of sandwiches. It was a picnic. Because of their high status, the Briefs' rarely got to enjoy privacy whenever they ventured outside and so most traditional family picnics had to be held in their own back garden as opposed to the park._

_Still, the atmosphere was nice. Bra was toddling around, still slightly unsteady as she practised walking. Dr. Briefs and Bunny Briefs were giggling over a ridiculous joke that wasn't even funny. Bulma and Vegeta were sat close to the flowerbeds, lapping up the summer sunshine. _

_Trunks was sat away from the group, lying on his side in the thin shadow that the dome of their house caused. He looked about nine-ish and he wore a bitter expression on his face as he gazed at his younger sister._

_She had toddled over to Dr. Briefs, a little bit startled after a bee had flown past her ear. Vegeta and Bulma were watching with slight parental concern for their youngest, but otherwise seemed content to let Bulma's father deal with it._

_Bra was agitatedly mimicking how the drama had unfolded and the sound the insect had made. A loud voice broke through the picture._

"_**Geez, Bra. Get a freaking grip**__."_

_The real Vegeta snapped his head upwards, trying to discern which direction the sound had come from. It had seemed to reverberate from all around him. The memory Vegeta, and everyone else in the scene, didn't even flinch. _

"_Never mind, sweetheart," Dr. Briefs told the little girl and pulling her close. She was still a bit upset. _

"_How about we tell you your favourite joke?" Bunny suggested, clapping her hands. Granted, the little girl had gotten the joke from a television program and it wasn't very funny but it had been her first proper joke and the doting grandparents had rolled around in hysterics._

_Bra clapped her hands and squealed excitedly, dropping to the floor. "Lemme say!" she cried, desperate for the attention she knew the following laughter would bring. _

"_Okay, cutie!" Bunny allowed. Bra took a dramatic deep breath, unaware that her parents took a seat behind her, smiling gently at their little girl and her sunny disposition._

"_**Gimme a break**__," came the voice again. It sounded very much like Trunks but when the real Vegeta looked over, he hadn't moved an inch. _

"_**She's cracking a pathetic joke, not making a speech about world hunger**__."_

"_Okay, okay! Here I go!" Everyone but Trunks sat up a little straighter as Bra began._

"_How can you tell if an elephant's been in your fridge?" she asked, happily. Everyone sent a significant glance to the person opposite them and rolled their eyes fondly._

"_I don't know, Bra! How?" Bulma asked, feigning surprise._

"_By the footprints in the butter!" she cackled, before giggling wildly. _

"_**Please. That's gotta be the worst joke in the history of joke-telling. Even Gohan's jokes are funnier and he's a nerd!**__" the voice exclaimed incredulously. _

"_Trunks!" Bulma called out suddenly. Trunks looked up grumpily. _

"_What?" he yelled back._

"_Don't answer me like that, young man! Have some manners!" Bulma scolded before adding, "Come and have some sandwiches."_

_Trunks stood up heavily and walked over, plonking himself down on the fringes of the family. He took some sandwiches without saying a word and settled down to chew quietly._

_Bra was all over the show, bouncing from one person to another, hyperactively. She was asking each member of the family in turn whether they enjoyed her joke. Each person nodded and smiled and she finally got to Trunks._

"_Twunks! Twunks! Did ya like my joke?" she asked, her blue eyes shining hopefully. The lavender-haired child barely registered his younger sister's respect for him._

"_No," he said, plainly. Bra's lip quivered._

"_No?" she repeated, crestfallen._

"_**Here we go. Now she'll run crying to Mom and I'll get the blame for crushing my sister's confidence or something. Or, if I'm lucky, I'll have to train with Dad. Great**__," the voice said sarcastically. Vegeta flinched at the mention of his name._

_It was then that he realised. The voices – they were Trunks' thoughts. _

_That sudden realisation snapped everything into perfect clarity. He was listening to his son's thoughts, listening to how the boy regarded other people in his everyday life. He had to admit, so far, he didn't like what he was hearing._

"_Mommy! Mommy! Twunks is being mean to me! He said that…that my joke was rubbish!" Bra cried, unhappily, trailing off into tears. Bulma fussed over her daughter for a moment before handing her over to the memory Vegeta._

"_Trunks!" Bulma hissed, standing up. She bent closer to her son, who had also stood up and whispered in his ear. "Even if you didn't like her joke you didn't have to say so!" she scolded, quietly._

_Trunks glanced round at his father and sister, completely disregarding his mother's words. Vegeta was lying flat on his back on the grass and Bra was sitting on his stomach. She was peering down into his face curiously and even the real Vegeta could see that his counterpart was trying (and failing) not to smirk._

_Trunks glared at them bitterly for a moment before turning on his heel and going back into the house._

"_**Stupid little sisters. Stupid dads. Think they have all the time in the world for you but they just care about the youngest. It's all the same! Even Goten says he gets cut way more slack than Gohan! I just thought it was because Gohan was at a good school and his mom wanted him to stay there. Didn't realise it was because of this unspoken rule of family favouritism.**__"_

"_**It's not fair!**__" Trunks complained in his head. "__**Why doesn't Dad wanna hang out with me anymore?**__"_

_The wave of despair and rejection that settled over the memory then was enough to make Vegeta's chest heart. He could feel his son's pain and wished for nothing more than to do right by his firstborn. _

"_**Maybe I did something wrong…**__"_

* * *

The last thought was a whisper, fading away as the memory dropped into a suspended pause. Vegeta stood up from his hiding place from behind the tree and wanted to go over to himself and kick his counterpart in the ribs or something for being so blind to his son's needs.

Dream Trunks suddenly appeared, lying lazily across a lower tree branch. "How was that for a movie, huh?" Dream Trunks asked smugly. Swinging down from the tree and landing in a crouch, Dream Trunks stood up and gestured to his father.

"Come on, Dad. We're burning mind-time and I've got a few more places to show you," Dream Trunks explained.

Vegeta just nodded, deep in thought. Just as they were about to disappear, Vegeta glanced back at the paused scene. It was a picture of familial bliss, Granny and Pop, Mom and Dad and spoiled little girl. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Vegeta had just heard and witnessed the dejection of his only son, he might have called it perfect.

But it wasn't. A dark shadow hung over their family portrait. Lonely and sad, Trunks had craved his father's affection for too long. And now, having gone without it for so long, was that the reason why Actual Trunks couldn't wake up? That he felt like there was nothing worth coming back to?

As Dream Trunks vanished with his father and a loud humming noise filled the vacuum around them, Vegeta could only think of one thing. His son was in agony. Not physically and maybe not mentally, but almost certainly emotionally. It was time to face the facts; Vegeta had long rejected his son's company in favour of his young daughter and now Trunks was jealous of Bra and almost certain that his father didn't care for him.

Setting his jaw and clenching his fists, Vegeta knew that it was far too late for apologies. His son needed action, help. And Vegeta intended to give it to him.

It was time to change.

* * *

_A/N: I'm quite looking forward to writing the next chapters XD! I've got another Trunks to introduce and it's here it may start to get a bit angsty. Lol stop looking at me like that! You guys love it really ;). Also, for anyone who cares, the joke that Bra tells was the first joke that I told when I was four. I got it off a Bob the Builder video that I watched whilst my family and I were camping and my parents have never forgotten it XD. It's now regarded as my joke and I always have to tell it whenever we manage to end up in some spontaneous joke-telling session lol XD._

_I also just wanted to say quickly that I absolutely love you guys. Seriously, second multi-chapter story, as well as being the second fanfiction I ever wrote and you guys have given me over 100 reviews!!! Not to mention the story alerts, the Favourite Authors/Favourite Stories, the story traffic, etc, etc...Seriously, thank you guys so much. You are all the absolute best people on FanFiction and thank you so, so, so much for being so incredibly kind :)._

_Guess that's all then. I'm going to Wales on Saturday for a week so updates may be slower coming. I shall try my absolute best to have another chapter out before Saturday to leave you with something before I go away but no promises. Lol, who knows? Maybe your reviews shall inspire me to get typing ;)._

_Lol, bye guys! Speak soon! ^-^_

_Love Racy_

_-x-_


	12. Chapter 11: Below the Belt

_A/N: Hi guys :). Once more, massive apologies for updating late. Hopefully this extra long chappie will make it up to ya ;D. Between Wales and unpacking and Work Experience Debrief Day and revision and coursework and homework and school and sleepovers and babysitting and...well, it's been hectic, to say the least and I've had no free time in which to finish this off. Plus, I've recently discovered a new fandom and, although I will never write for it, reading fanfics for that has taken up a lot of spare time and I kept warping Vegeta and Trunks into this other style and it took a while to get their characters back. _

_Haven't edited as well as I should have again either. Once I finished it (about thirty seconds ago, lol), I just wanted to get it up here so it's likely I've missed a couple of things. Still, if I have, just lemme know, either review or PM me and I'll get it sorted :). Guess that's all for now. Enjoy the latest installment! ^_^_

_WARNING: Contains mentions of suicide. _

* * *

**Chapter 11: **

**Below the Belt**

Carefully surveying his surroundings with a critical eye, Dream Trunks turned back to his father.

"Okay, pick a memory, Dad," he said, his voice raised slightly to be heard over the gritty buzz of a million memories playing at once. "We've got Lonely, Despair, Anger…" Dream Trunks recounted as many emotions as he could think of that he knew Actual Trunks would have been feeling in reference to his father.

"No." Vegeta replied, firmly. His mind was made up; it was time to get out of here. He knew the problem with his son now and he had to fix it quickly before it was too late.

"Take me to where I can speak with my son's subconscious," he demanded. Dream Trunks' eyes darkened slightly.

"You're not ready for that yet," he whispered dangerously.

"The hell I'm not!" Vegeta yelled. "I know what I need to do! And you had better not try and stand in my way, boy!"

Dream Trunks glared. "You're so stubborn!" he cried. "You've seen one tiny example of jealousy and think you know exactly what you're doing! Well, you're wrong, Father!"

Vegeta was about to speak up but Dream Trunks silenced him. "No, listen to me!" he screamed.

"You know nothing of what your son has suffered! _Nothing! _So, you've seen a little jealousy! Hasn't everyone?! You yourself should know that better than most, Father! What with your quest to achieve Super Saiyan before Goku!"

"Well, here's a newsflash for you, Pops – this runs a bit deeper than some pathetic mission to have something before someone else! This is your son's life!" Dream Trunks, paused for a moment, breathing deeply.

Vegeta shook his head, enraged. "Fool!" he spat. "I can end this now! And, once again, you're standing in my way!" Vegeta raged, dropping into a fighting stance, leaving Dream Trunks to figure out that he would be moved one way or another.

Dream Trunks smiled sadly and gave a half-hearted chuckle. Vegeta raised his eyebrows but did nothing to relax his posture. As Vegeta clenched his raised fist, Dream Trunks put his hands up in surrender, a mixture of mischief and sorrow gleaming in his emerald eyes.

"No! Fine!" he cried, patronisingly. "Have it your way, since you seem to know best! Who cares that I am a figment of the mind itself, much less a version of your son who has mostly felt like crap these past few years? Who cares that I know exactly how this place works and exactly how your kid is feeling? Right?" Dream Trunks rambled animatedly.

"Then Dad shows up and suddenly, the whole damn system works his way. Of course, of course. My mistake for not realising that sooner," Dream Trunks' face slipped into a glare, his tone bitter.

Vegeta mirrored his son's expression and spoke in a clipped tone. "If you don't quit this incessant babbling and take me to where I can fix my son, you will regret it, boy."

Dream Trunks shrugged distantly before becoming animated again. "Sure! Sure! I know exactly where to go! If you won't listen to me then maybe you'll listen to your _son_…" Dream Trunks' voice trailed off as a plan came together before his eyes.

Vegeta looked confused. As far as he knew, for all intents and purposes, this Dream Trunks _was _his son. A version of him at least. Was Dream Trunks taking him to see his real child or another broken version?

"I don't wanna do this to you, Dad. You're not really ready for it. Still, you asked for it." With nothing more to say, Dream Trunks rushed to his father's side, grabbed his arm and dissipated to the air in a matter of seconds.

* * *

_Goku had been bored for a while now. He wasn't really the sort of person who did well standing still for long periods of time. You just had to ask his wife, who could clarify only too well on the fact. _

_Nevertheless, he maintained his role diligently. There had been no abnormal signs from Trunks and Vegeta had remained still as a statue for the entire process. He wondered what was happening. Around three hours had passed since they'd strapped Trunks to the machine and, to be honest, he was getting rather hungry. _

_He wanted desperately to move around or just leave but he couldn't do that to Vegeta. He knew that, however cold the Saiyan Prince appeared, he would do exactly the same for Goku if the roles were reversed and it was Gohan or Goten lying there. It was the least he could do for the man he had come to call friend._

_Stretching out his numb limbs, Goku contemplated his age. He was a grandfather now. He found himself grinning at the thought of his young granddaughter, Pan. She was a keen fighter at just three-years-old. It made him proud to have a legacy like that. He recalled some of her favourite pastimes were flying around the planet as fast as she could or walking on her hands._

_Turning his back for just a moment, Goku tipped forward and landed on his hands. He figured a small workout wouldn't do any harm. It wasn't like he was going to miss much. Legs up in the air as he steadied himself in a handstand, Goku began to bend and flex his arms as he performed a kind-of push-up. A thousand or two or should be fine. He only needed a small break._

_It wasn't like he was going to miss much…_

_Enthralled in his gruelling, gravity-defying workout, Goku didn't even notice when Trunks' body jerked and his eyes shot open…_

* * *

It was dark.

Too dark.

The sort of dark that lingered in hallways at night, daring you to walk through it without quickening your pace.

Not that Vegeta had ever been irrational like that.

Still, it was far too dark. Dream Trunks' aura provided a faint blue glow in the blackness but it only exposed just that. More blackness. The teenage apparition was smirking.

"Here we are," Dream Trunks gestured to the crushing nothingness.

"I don't see anything," Vegeta retorted, in no mood for Dream Trunks' games.

"Give it a sec," Dream Trunks said, airily. "Better yet, walk in that direction." Dream Trunks pointed east. "Go Super if it gets to be too much for you. I'll come and get you." Winking once, Dream Trunks vanished and thick darkness rushed into the slight vacuum he'd left behind.

The air was almost murky and Vegeta felt the need to hold his hands out in front of him as he began to walk. He firmly kept them at his sides, though, relying on his ki sensing abilities to do the rest. He could feel a very faint, very _broken _life force in the direction Dream Trunks had pointed and began to run for it.

Very soon, he was almost upon it and sat somewhere within a 50-metre radius. The scenery had changed. What was once nothing but endless dark had warped slowly and become a mountain forest. Pine trees sprung up around Vegeta, their tips unseen, being so high up. A clear, more natural white fog gently stroked the muddy, leaf-coated ground and light pellets of rain drummed on the earth and pine needles.

It was cold but whereas the rest of the scene was natural, this cold was not. It was bone-chilling and eerie. The sort of cold that gave someone the idea that the place was being haunted.

Birds cackled madly and the forest was buzzing with life which seemed so out of place and confusing when the whole area felt like _death. _

Vegeta walked forward and came to a small gap in the trees. Beyond them was a clearing. Very little grass covered the ground. It was mainly soggy mud which Vegeta pictured would probably be bone dry in the summer months. Leaves coiled and danced on a thin wind that whistled through the clearing and around a huge boulder in the centre.

Someone was sat on it.

Vegeta frowned and stepped out into the naturally-occurring space. The rain seemed to hit harder here, its gentle drumming becoming something of a march. The person on the rock had his back to Vegeta and Vegeta noticed that the mud around the boulder was thicker, darker. Like there was something besides soil and rainwater congregating in the dipped land.

Cautiously, Vegeta moved to the opposite side of the clearing, in direct view of the boulder and the person sat upon it. He blanched at the sight.

The front of the boulder was completely spattered with blood. It ran southward, diluting in the heavy rain droplets. A massive puddle of it sat at the foot of the boulder, mixing with the mud. Vegeta's eyes followed the blood stains upwards and his gaze landed on the person atop of the huge rock.

It was a teenage boy, around the same age as Trunks. He wore a white shirt, although it was grey from being dampened in the rain. He was sat cross-legged, his eyes staring diagonally downwards as he followed the blood trails. His arms rested on his legs and he almost appeared to be in a meditative position. His dark jeans were soaked with blood.

Vegeta gasped out loud as he took in the state of the boy's arms.

Deep, thick gash marks ran the length of either arm. Despite the boy looking relatively alive, the wounds looked old; the blood in them long since dried. Inside the wounds, the blood had stopped flowing, leaving only a congealed, black, pus-like substance to ooze from the lacerations.

The boy's hair was caked with dirt and leafy debris. Yet, Vegeta could see the purple streaks shining through. Heart in his mouth, Vegeta outstretched one of his arms as he approached the rock.

"Trunks?" he whispered.

The boy looked up, face streaked with dirt and tears. His blue eyes had lost their spark and he looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Choking on a sob, Trunks held out a broken arm of his own.

"Dad?" he asked, confused.

Before Vegeta could respond, Trunks' eyes rolled back into his skull and he fell backwards, disappearing from view. Vegeta shot forward and rushed to the other side of the boulder. Much to his surprise, Trunks and the other half of the clearing had disappeared.

He was standing on a cliff ledge, Search and Rescue men leaning over not too far away. Vegeta wondered what they were doing there. One of them looked up at Vegeta but it was obvious that Vegeta was invisible to them. They had abseiling equipment with them and several were speaking into radios.

Vegeta caught the words, "possibly found him", "after all this time" and "looks like suicide". Gritting his teeth to prepare him for what he might see, Vegeta looked over the edge of the cliff face and caught sight of a rocky outcrop about ninety feet down.

There was a body lying on it.

Swooping down as fast as his Saiyan speed would take him, nothing prepared him for the sight.

A mangled body lay broken on the ledge. It had been decaying there for awhile. It was mostly broken skeleton fragments, bleached white from sunlight exposure, but some flesh remained. The eyes were gone, rotting flesh literally melting from the skull. Small patches of weak purple littered the skull.

It was Trunks.

Vegeta turned away for a moment, trying to quell the rising nausea. His son was suicidal. The thought knocked the breath out of him. But it was true. Actual Trunks had gone so long without his father's affection or approval that he'd been driven to thinking of suicide.

Come to think of it, weren't the clothes the first suicidal Trunks had been wearing on the boulder the same as the ones Actual Trunks had been wearing on the day he'd collapsed? And what about before that, when Vegeta told Actual Trunks to train when he'd been on his laptop? He'd been typing something, but Vegeta was damn sure he hadn't been on the internet.

_Had he been writing a suicide note?_

And now, here he was – trapped in his son's mind, looking at a very real, yet very morbid possibility of what Actual Trunks believed his life would come to.

It was heartbreaking.

A sudden popping noise to the right of Vegeta alerted him to Dream Trunks' arrival.

"And this –" Dream Trunks gestured to Trunks' dead body. "-Is why you should have listened to me." His voice was soft, sympathetic even. They hovered in silence for a few moments before Dream Trunks piped up again.

"Maybe you should talk to him," he suggested. Vegeta looked at his son incredulously. It was a dead body. In his experience, Vegeta was sure they didn't talk.

Dream Trunks picked up on his father's disbelief and smiled sadly. "It's not like this has actually happened. I wouldn't be standing here otherwise, and neither would you. But it's always a good idea to get a new perspective, right?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes indulgently. That was something Bulma often said. He suddenly thought of his wife and wondered if she was okay. He couldn't be sure how much time had passed since entering Actual Trunks' mind but he knew it was dangerous to remain in there for longer than three hours, for the both of them.

"Okay, so a few pointers before we wake up old misery guts over there," Dream Trunks explained. "First off, keep in mind that these things were dreamed up in Trunks' darkest moments. That means that he's gonna be one stubborn son of a bi-" Dream Trunks trailed off sheepishly as his father gave him a 'look' regarding the upcoming swear word. "-bi…cycle!" Dream Trunks grinned before coughing and continuing.

"Also, be careful you don't get suckered into feeling the same way. Thoughts like these are leeches and if you talk to him for too long, he'll drag you down with him and there will be nothing I can do to stop it. Basically, you'll be stuck here forever as a rotting body. Fun, right?" Dream Trunks said sarcastically.

Vegeta just nodded, solemn. The atmosphere of this place was crushing and he wanted to speak to his son and then leave as quickly as possible.

"Okay then, good luck!" Dream Trunks sent out a wave of blue aura that seemed to suspend the three of them (decaying body included) in a place where time couldn't reach them. Dream Trunks gave a quick salute before vanishing once more.

There was a low moan and broken coughing and Vegeta turned his attention to the Morbid Trunks on the cliff ledge. He gently landed beside his dead son and helped pull him up. Morbid Trunks looked around for a moment through empty sockets before rounding on his father.

"Why would you do that?!" he screamed. Vegeta's face hardened. All he'd done was help the boy up! Frankly, he didn't look as though he was even capable of standing, what with his skeletal legs wobbling unsteadily, flaying pieces of flesh outwards.

The warped teenager rushed forward to lash out at his father, but stumbled before he could throw a punch. Vegeta caught him, fighting his gag reflex as his hands became immersed in disgusting old flesh. Morbid Trunks balled his fists and raised them to either side of his head, gripping his patchy hair and white skull before turning away from Vegeta.

He was sobbing.

"I thought you didn't love me anymore!" the boy cried. The hiccupping sobs that made their way through the splintered windpipe of Vegeta's son almost threw him over the edge. Gritting his teeth, Vegeta struggled to maintain his composure.

"You loved Bra! My little sister! Oh Kami, what am I going to do?! I barely knew my little sister! She'll grow up and I won't know any of it!" Morbid Trunks was getting hysterical, his voice rising higher and higher.

"Why didn't you stop me?!" he screamed at his father, who flinched involuntarily. "You…you…you said things would be better! Mom said it too…Crap! Mom! Look at what you've done! If you had cared about me, things would be different! I wouldn't be dead!"

"Trunks…" Vegeta whispered his son's name, unable to console him. He was right. The deceased boy was right. If Vegeta had been a better father…

Thoughts filled with guilt and self-loathing flooded Vegeta's mind. A small part of him knew that these sickeningly brutal visions of Morbid Trunks dropping to his death and his own guilty conscience were a product of Morbid Trunks' own diseased existence but Vegeta couldn't seem to help it. It was his son after all.

"I didn't know, my son. I'm sorry," Vegeta breathed quietly, his stomach feeling like lead. He wanted to cry. His mind felt empty, oily. It was disconcerting and in the depths of his mind, a voice told him that Dream Trunks had been right.

"What good is sorry now?!" Morbid Trunks cried. "You were like a hero to me, Father! But…you didn't care about me!" Morbid Trunks flew forward and gripped his father's wrists, pushing him back against the cliff face.

_How can empty eye sockets still look so desperate? _Vegeta wondered.

"Why didn't you care? Was I a mistake? You didn't want me. But you wanted Bra, my little sister. Do you train her? Does she remember me? Tell me! Tell me!" Morbid Trunks was hysterical, his hissed ramblings tearing Vegeta's soul. He had no idea that Morbid Trunks was slowly draining his life energy. All he could feel was his son's desperate craving to be loved and the ruthless guilt that he had failed his father.

_He couldn't take his eyes off of the wrecked skull…_

* * *

_Dream Trunks watched nervously. His father was fading away. Morbid Trunks was beginning to drain Vegeta's life force. Looking at the top of the cliff, Dream Trunks could see the first suicidal Trunks beginning to climb down the cliff to join its brother in the feast. Pretty soon, his dad's ki would become a buffet for every terrible thought Actual Trunks had experienced. _

_**So NOT happening,**__ Dream Trunks thought decisively._

_Chewing nervously on his lip, Dream Trunks debated when to step in. If he broke the lock he'd put on himself, his father and Morbid Trunks, the first suicidal teen they'd encountered would be scouring that cliff face that much faster. But there was no way he could move through his own time lock quick enough to reach his dad in time regardless._

_Vegeta began to sway as the initially thin stream of life energy Morbid Trunks was absorbing suddenly increased. Dream Trunks glanced once more at the other descending leech and Vegeta's head dipped forward._

_**Screw it!**__ He thought._

_Breaking the time lock, the blue aura that had surrounded them all vanished and it was no longer like flying through wet clay. Dream Trunks zipped forward and batted Morbid Trunks away. The corpse hissed as Dream Trunks wrapped Vegeta's arm around his neck and hoisted him up. Dream Trunks flared his ki and Morbid Trunks toppled backwards and fell into the deep, black abyss below. _

_Quickly dissipating just moments before the other Trunks could reach them, Dream Trunks laid the unconscious form of his father on the ground in a far away, neutral area of the mind. _

_He felt for a pulse and was startled when he couldn't pick one up. Dream Trunks glanced at his own hands as he began chest compressions, noting that they were paler and taking on a more ghostly pallor. He gasped in alarm; Vegeta had been in here too long and now, Trunks' mind was beginning to shut down. _

_**Wake up, Dad! You need to get out of here or we're all screwed! **__He thought desperately. Feeling once more for a pulse and not finding one, Dream Trunks began chest compressions with even more vigour than before._

_**Breathe….**_

_

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_A/N: Lol, I know, I know. You don't have to say it. ANOTHER cliffhanger XD! Seriously, I don't do it to piss you guys off, it just helps me to get in the right frame of mind and helps me visualise where I'm gonna go with it when I get around to actually writing the next chapter. So, just think about that before you write me a strongly-worded review or chuck a lamp at your screen or something XD._

_Can't tell you when the next one will be up :/. I haven't got around to writing it yet and, what with exam revision and a certain arsehole of a teacher who feels it pertinent to set homework after EVERY. LESSON. I. HAVE. WITH. HIM., getting it up in the very near future seems unlikely. I will do my very, very best because I love you guys :) so hopefully I can get it out of my brain soon ^_^._

_Guess that's all then. Thank you guys SOOOOO much for the reviews and the alerts, the favourites, etc, etc...I love you guys and I'm glad your enjoying it :). God know's it's a pain in the arse to write :/ XD lol._

_Speak soon, guys! ^-^_

_Love Racy_

_-x-_


	13. Chapter 12: Downward Spiral

_A/N: Woohoo! Hi guys! We've reached the penultimate chapter! Yippee :D. I actually did have it ready to go for last Tuesday but I've been having real trouble updating my fics and recieving inbox notifications and stuff like that. I've contacted the site so I'm just waiting to hear from them now but, while I have a brief reprive, I decided to update! Anyway, enjoy!_

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**Chapter 12  
****Downward Spiral**

Dream Trunks could've cried in relief when Vegeta suddenly gave a choking breath and his eyes shot open. He helped him to sit up as the Saiyan Prince coughed and sputtered.

"Easy, Dad," Dream Trunks held his voice steady even though he was beginning to feel quite weak. He breathed deeply, trying to quell the rising sense of dizziness. Vegeta's breathing was back under control and he looked around him before he took stock of his son beside him.

Dream Trunks was on his hands and knees, wheezing audibly and was fading before Vegeta's eyes. In a moment of concern, Vegeta reached out to place a steady hand on his son's shoulder when Dream Trunks collapsed, clutching his stomach. Vegeta instantly rushed to Dream Trunks' side, assaulted with memories of Actual Trunks writhing in agony on the floor of the GR.

"Trunks?" Vegeta gulped, watching fearfully as Dream Trunks tried to push himself back up.

"Go, Dad!" Dream Trunks cried, his voice strained as waves of pain washed over him. "Get out of here! I'll take care of the illness, that's easy. But you have to leave! He'll wake up and, as his mind starts to break, Trunks' life energy will expel outwards and he'll start to freakin' self-destruct. And you know better than most what kind of damage that kind of power could do!"

Vegeta's eyes widened at the realisation of not only losing his son but also the possibility of the planet. The thought of him and Kakarot having to take down his own child sickened him. He stood up, pulling Dream Trunks up with him. Dream Trunks shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Okay, I'm ready. Do what you gotta do, Dad. I'm outta here." Dream Trunks turned away to dissipate but quickly looked back again at his father. This was it – what they'd both come here to do.

"Good luck, Father," he whispered, just loud enough for Vegeta to hear. Vegeta nodded once and smirked, proud of this version of his son. He watched for a moment watched as Dream Trunks smiled slightly and vanished before turning back to the task at hand.

Closing his eyes, Vegeta let his facial nerves become aware of the contraption on his face. There was a buzzing sound and a rush of air around him as he slowly moved back into reality. He was distantly aware of someone calling his name and Trunks'.

It sounded a hell of a lot like Goku.

His eyes felt heavy and his body sluggish yet Vegeta forced his lids open, pleased as the muffled noise and blurry scenes slowly took form and became Bulma's laboratory basement.

Ripping the monocle from his eye, Vegeta chucked it to the ground and instantly became aware of the chaos around him.

Trunks was thrashing around on the metal table, coming dangerously close to pulling the metal bands from around his wrists. He was yelling madly, his eyes showing no sign of coherency. Power was flooding out of him in thick waves and Goku was diving between the desperate teenager and the control panel which was sparking erratically.

Instantly in action, Vegeta rushed to the table, grabbing his son's wrists and trying to force him into clarity. The searing heat from his son's skin brutally forced Vegeta into facing the fact that maybe Dream Trunks hadn't made it. Maybe he hadn't managed to fight off the illness.

And now his son was going to be lost.

Vegeta momentarily prayed to his Saiyan ancestors that Dream Trunks managed to expel the Encephalitis clouding Trunks' mind before it was too late as he tried to shake his son into submission. Goku rushed to the other side of the table, mimicking Vegeta's movements.

"What happened?" Vegeta growled fiercely over the noise of Trunks' violent ki energy.

Goku had the good grace to look apologetic. He really had no idea…

* * *

_Goku had reached 427 press-ups before he had even begun to realise something was wrong. The gentle humming noise that was the control panel carefully monitoring Trunks' brain activity had seemingly disappeared to the black expanse of Bulma's laboratory and he hadn't noticed. _

_Frowning as he pulled himself upright, Goku carefully inspected the equipment, which seemed to be in perfect working order, and then Vegeta, who appeared just as serene as he had when he had first put on the monocle and entered Trunks' mind._

_Finally, Goku reached the table. He knew it wasn't the safest idea to intervene but he had to make sure that Trunks, the boy he regarded as a godson, was alright. He checked the bolts restraining Trunks to the table and made sure that the little sticky pads that joined Trunks to the machinery hadn't come unstuck. _

_They were all fine._

_A small flash of white caught Goku's eye before he turned away. Peering over at Trunks' face, he noticed the boy's eyes were wide open. Suddenly alarmed, Goku frantically tried to remember if they had been open at the start of the experiment. He couldn't remember! As he tried to fuss himself over the mechanics, he felt a shockwave pass through the lab._

_It was life energy._

_Vegeta had begun to frown, even in his essentially unconscious state, and Goku had no doubt that the Prince, who had always come in second to the Earth-born warrior, would have no trouble ripping him apart if anything happened to his heir._

_The machinery started up again, beeping loudly and small sparks of electricity were flowing up and down the long cables that ran the length of the metal table. Trunks' hair became static, slowly fanning out on the cold surface and the waves of expending ki got larger and quicker. _

_Goku hurried to Trunks' side, trying to reason with the boy and get him to wake up. It wasn't working. Nothing was working!_

_As it all went to hell, only one urgent thought kept passing through his mind..._

_**Come on, Vegeta! Where are you?**_

* * *

"Damn it!" Vegeta spat, angrily. He was terrified for his son's life and for that of the planet. His mind suddenly flashed back to something Dr. Evers had said back in the hospital.

"_If you can't do that," Dr. Evers said eventually. "Then put him back into a coma, Mr. Briefs."_

Vegeta's mouth hung agape for a moment. Could he do it? Would it be worse than killing his son? What if he miscalculated and murdered his boy by mistake or left him in a coma that he couldn't recover from? What if…

Vegeta was snapped from his thoughts as he heard the unmistakable sound of the foundations of a house collapsing around them. He looked directly at Goku whose face mimicked Vegeta's dread-filled expression. As dust began to fall from the ceiling, Goku nodded and quickly began to make short work of the cables and restraints pinning Trunks to the table.

He grabbed hold of Trunks' and Vegeta's wrists and, in a flash, they vanished…

* * *

**MEANWHILE, INSIDE OF TRUNKS' MIND**

Dream Trunks was holding his own against the illness, but it wasn't easy. His weakened state meant that the cloudy disease was coming close to completely engulfing him and then, they'd be lost.

It didn't help that the illness was catching on to Dream Trunks' every move, his dwindling figure and weak attacks becoming more and more predictable. The illness swayed casually as if Dream Trunks wasn't even worth its time and began to taunt him by slowly forming soldier-like creatures from the mist.

Debating how much energy he had left, Dream Trunks knew that he had just enough to banish the disease for good, but not enough to keep himself alive in the process. A misty demon swiped him and he hit the floor, breathing hard. This was it, he had to do it. He had to die, so that Actual Trunks could live.

Standing shakily, Dream Trunks thought over the previous events with his father as he began to power up. Who would've thought that the cold-hearted Saiyan could share such a bond with his son? Dream Trunks only hoped his sacrifice wasn't in vain.

As he came closer to reaching that pivotal point, Dream Trunks could've sworn he saw the memories he and his father had encountered offering encouraging smiles through the thick fog of Encephalitis Lethargica and he also took note of the suicidal Trunks' watching from the sidelines, heads bowed in respect and defeat.

Finally, Dream Trunks hit the very outer-limits of his energy and pushed it outwards in one massive explosion of ki. As he screamed, he could feel the heavy pressure around him vanish as the illness was burnt up in his life energy.

Eventually, the screaming ended and the illness and Dream Trunks were gone. Trunks' mind was black and regular, just like it had been before.

Just a Mind.

And all was quiet…

* * *

The mountain expanse Goku had taken them to wasn't doing much to stop Trunks from wrecking the Earth. By now, the whole planet was shaking and Vegeta was sure he'd heard Goku mutter that, at some point, Trunks was going to hit Super Saiyan 3.

Under normal circumstances, Vegeta would have swelled with pride at the fact that his son, before Goku's, could reach such a high commendation of power. But even Vegeta knew that it was too soon and if his son hit Super Saiyan 3 now, he would die.

Suddenly, there was a slight change in Trunks' chemistry. His ki felt different; healthier somehow. Vegeta and Goku exchanged a knowing glance as they tried to absorb as much of Trunks' energy as possible. Trunks was free from the grips of the illness and Vegeta sent up a quick prayer, thanking Dream Trunks and Kami.

Trunks momentarily continued to thrash wildly, but suddenly stilled. His ki was still expelling from him steadily but he seemed bemused by what was taking place. Suddenly, his mind cleared completely and his eyes shot open, clear and crystal blue, fully awake.

"Dad?" he whispered, his voice hoarse from a month of disuse and the screaming that had occurred. Father and son exchanged a brief, frightened glance, each realising that, though the illness was gone and Trunks was fully awake, his ki was broken and on and on it flowed from him, cracking the surrounding landscape.

"No!" Vegeta cried. They couldn't have come this far! Not just to fail! His son would live, he'd see to it!

Now he was completely awake, Trunks' ki was draining faster than even Goku and Vegeta thought possible and it was clear that he was going to expire before their eyes. Without waiting to explain, Vegeta passed Trunks off to Goku who held him in position, his face solemn.

Vegeta and Trunks gazed at each other for a moment; Vegeta wondering if he could do it and Trunks knowing it had to be done.

"Just do it, Father," he whispered, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold in much longer.

Vegeta hesitated for a moment, feeling his bones break under the tremendous pressure of Trunks' ki. Goku also was struggling and both were afraid for the huge crack that suddenly appeared in the Earth's crust.

Shutting his eyes and focusing his ki, Vegeta pulled his fist back and, in one sharp moment, released his arm straight into Trunks' jaw. The punch threw Trunks' head back with a sickening _crack _and Goku held him steady as they floated to the ground, the ki vanishing to the atmosphere as quickly as it had appeared.

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_A/N: Ugh! Don't tell me. A cliffhanger! This chapter wasn't supposed to end here but unfortunately, my computer spazzed up when it was saving and chopped off the end of this chapter and the whole of the final one. All that work! I had to completely rewrite that damn last chapter to help it fit the new direction this fic has taken and it's gone! So annoying. But, never fear! I have started it again and have already got halfway through. I have strong hopes that Without Warning will be done before the week is up! Exciting times ;D! Stay tuned, guys!_


	14. Chapter 13: Maybe It'll Be Okay Now

_A/N: NO WORDS! JUST GET ON AND READ THE FINAL CHAPTER! Lol, more Author's Note at the end :). _**

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**Chapter 13  
****Maybe it'll be Okay Now**

It had been six months since that hellish day.

Six months since Vegeta and a figment of Trunks' mind embarked on a journey to rescue his son's soul.

Six months since Bulma had suffered a severe concussion, thanks to her own son.

Six months since Trunks had been cured of Encephalitis Lethargica.

Six months since the sheer energy of Trunks' ki had broken four of Vegeta's ribs and one of his arms.

Six months since Vegeta broken his son's neck in order to inadvertently save Trunks' life and that of the planet and its inhabitants.

"Don't panic, Mr. and Mrs. Briefs," the doctor had said. "The damage to Trunks' neck is minimal. If…_when _he awakes from this latest coma, he'll be fully functional with little to no paralysis whatsoever."

Six months since Vegeta had heaved into a hospital wastepaper basket, thinking of how close he had come to destroying his son's future.

So, in six months, Trunks had stayed trapped in the coma his father had put him in. There wasn't a day that passed him by when he wondered if being in a coma was the gods way of saying that this was how Trunks was meant to go.

_It just wasn't fair._

Stilling himself before he opened the door to Trunks' private room, Vegeta could see Bulma stroking his son's hair affectionately. It was no secret that the relationship between them was decaying. Bulma never blamed Vegeta for what he had to do to their son but he blamed himself and that was just as bad.

He entered quietly, the door clicking shut behind him. Bulma looked up wearily and smiled gently. Her hair was slowly but surely growing out again. The stitches she'd required had forced the nurses to shave her head. Originally, Bulma had been furious but both she and Vegeta agreed now that the new hairstyle did wonders for an aging face.

"Hey, 'Geta," Bulma greeted her husband, using the nickname he loathed. She stood up and kissed his cheek and he gently brushed a hair away from her face.

"When was the last time you slept, woman?" he asked, seriously. It had been obvious to everyone in recent months that Vegeta had been far more protective over his family, play-dates for Bra having to be thoroughly vetted and Bulma having to be accompanied everywhere.

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me you've slept much either," Bulma teased gently, brushing her fingers across the Saiyan Prince's cheek where dark rings lay. Vegeta just rolled his eyes and huffed. Bulma smirked and ran a hand through his dark hair, jumping slightly as the door opened behind them both.

Feeling Bulma start in his arms, Vegeta looked up and saw Dr. Evers and Dr. Druck leaning solemnly in the doorway.

"Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, would you mind following us?" Dr. Druck asked, his face forlorn. Glancing fearfully at one another, the couple spared a quick parting glance at their son before accompanying the two doctors to Dr. Evers office.

Vegeta felt himself tense up as he caught sight of the door. It looked exactly the same as the one where they'd been told Trunks was ill and in a coma all those months ago.

Dr. Druck sat down, Dr. Evers by his side, and both gestured for Bulma and Vegeta to take a seat.

Clearing his throat, Dr. Druck began. "What I have to say will doubtless be difficult for you both to hear, but you must bear in mind that it is only in the best interest of your son." Vegeta was instantly on alert and he sat up slightly straighter, ready to fight for his son if it came to it. He resisted the urge to smirk as he saw Bulma do the same from the corner of his eye.

"Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, you may be aware that every day, we take a measurement of Trunks' neurological activity. We are concerned that, since his…relapse, there has been little or no brain activity. Your son is being kept alive through machinery and we hope that you might agree with us to take your son off the respirator so that others may benefit more effectively from its services," Dr. Evers proposed.

There was a moment of stunned silence and apprehension hung in the air. Vegeta shot up, his hand slamming down on the doctor's desk, leaving a fist-shaped imprint.

"No!" he hissed. Bulma flared up beside him.

"I can have the best lawyers in the world over here in a moment! There is no way you are killing my son!" Bulma cried, adamant.

Dr. Druck stood up, feeling it appropriate for him to intervene. "Mrs. Briefs, your son is no longer with us! Surely you can see, as one of the world's most defiant campaigners in the fairness and equality, that it is simply cruel of you to keep Trunks alive when nothing will become of him," Dr. Druck spoke quietly, but with burning determination and the words hit the couple hard.

_It just wasn't fair._

The thought ran through Vegeta's mind, over and over. He could almost hear the cogs of Bulma's brain ticking over and they looked at each other, each wondering the same thing. Were they bad parents for keeping their child alive when it was clear he had long since passed? Would they have failed their son if they let him go without a fight?

_It just wasn't fair._

A thousand Trunks' flashed through Vegeta's mind. Baby Trunks learning to walk, Trunks' first day at school, Trunks at the World Martial Arts Tournament, Trunks on his first date, Trunks going to secondary school, Trunks falling out with Goten, Trunks eating, Trunks sleeping...A thousand different Trunks', all a crucial part of Vegeta's life.

_His son._

Wasn't it his duty, as the Prince of All Saiyans, to do right by his son? As cold and as selfish as he appeared, he would do anything for his kin. Maybe it was time for him to make the ultimate sacrifice.

"Bulma…" he whispered gently. She looked at her husband fiercely, tears filling her cerulean eyes. They were right. There was nothing else to be done. Trunks was gone and it was selfish to hang onto him any longer.

It didn't mean she had to like it, though.

"Does this mean we can proceed?" Dr. Druck asked, gently.

Vegeta and Bulma both nodded once in unison, their heads turned away from one another, each gazing at a spot on the floor. It was becoming blurry.

"We'll make all the necessary arrangements. Please, offer your family the chance to say their farewells." Neither of the couple reacted at Dr. Evers words and stood silently as both doctors left the room, each muttering hushed sympathies as they went.

* * *

The remainder of the day passed eventfully. A date was set for later in the week and Bulma had flown into a sudden rage in the middle of the hospital screaming that no one could take her son away from her and demanding that the procedure of taking Trunks off the life support machine was cancelled.

It had taken all of five minutes and a strong tranquiliser to calm her down.

Very slowly, members of the Briefs family and the Z-Fighters and their families had drifted into the hospital to pay their respects. Some goodbyes had been worse than others and Vegeta found it difficult to keep his composure throughout all of them.

Eventually, though, the day came. Just Bulma and Vegeta were at Trunks' bedside.

_It just wasn't fair. _

With the exception of the mouth tube, Trunks could have been sleeping. He looked calm, peaceful, _relaxed _even. Brushing back a small clump of lavender hair, Vegeta wondered when something would go right in his life. If it weren't for the fact that he had a duty to his wife and young daughter, Vegeta precariously wondered if he'd be able to hold on to life.

He didn't think so.

"Okay, Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, we're about ready to start," the Heart and Lungs specialist said quietly. Already each clutching one of their son's hands, Bulma leaned forward and kissed her son on the forehead.

"Sleep well, kiddo," she whispered, the same words she'd been whispering for the past fifteen years. The tears that rolled down her cheeks were unstoppable.

_This is a nightmare, _her mind screamed at her. _This can't be happening!_

"You wait for me, Trunks, okay? Don't make me come find you," she growled playfully, dishevelled blue hair quavering as her voice cracked on a bitter, nasal laugh. Kissing her son on the cheek once, she sat back, sobbing quietly.

Vegeta was blank, his own thoughts reflecting those of Bulma's and more. He had failed once more.

_You fail as a warrior, even as the Prince of All Saiyans, but now, you have failed the most. You have failed as a father._

The thought latched onto his brain, suffocating him of any emotion. Leaning forward once, he whispered a Saiyan prayer in his son's ear before leaning back.

"If we're ready…" the specialist's mumbled tones cut through the slow scene. A few moments of pressurised sounds occurred in the background, detected only to Vegeta's sensitive ears but they went unrewarded. As the life support machine cut off, one sound cut through Vegeta even more than that of Frieza's cruel laughter.

It was a flatline.

He gripped his son's hand tightly for a moment, focusing steadily on the boy's ki, expecting it to slowly wane and vanish.

It didn't.

Cracking his eyes open a slit, Vegeta stared down at his son, mind reeling. He could have sworn…

_Did he hear an intake of breath?_

Gingerly, oblivious to Bulma's loud sobbing next to him, Vegeta reached out and felt for a carotid pulse on Trunks' neck. Thready and weak, but definitely existent! Frowning in surprise and moving gently so as not to give himself false hope or damage Trunks further, Vegeta tapped his son's cheek gently.

"Son?" he whispered, knowing Bulma's ears would miss the near-silent word.

A gentle moan and a harsher intake of breath was his reward. Hope renewed, Vegeta jostled his wife.

"Bulma!" he gestured to her, raising her chin to force her to look at her son whose eyes were trying to peel themselves apart.

"Wha...-Trunks?" Bulma asked fearfully. There was a slight cough and hitching of breath as Trunks finally opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and it took a few lethargic blinks to clear them.

His voice was raw and he felt like someone had spent the last six months rubbing sandpaper down his throat.

"Wha's…up-p…guysss?" he slurred blearily, his voice croaking painfully. Laughing almost hysterically, Bulma kissed Trunks' head quickly before flying out of the room in search of Dr. Druck.

"S-sup wiv…'er?" he asked, groggily. Vegeta just chuckled; the boy had no idea. He forced the tears of joy that sprang to his eyes dutifully back down. The Prince of All Saiyans _did not _cry.

* * *

Hours later, Bulma and Vegeta were sat in the cafeteria of the hospital, both in happy silence, still reeling from the events of the earlier morning. Currently, Trunks was being taken for more X-Rays and CT scans to be one hundred percent sure that he was officially okay. While fully shocked at the way the day had unfolded, the doctors had ensured that the prognosis was good. Trunks wasn't in anyway affected by the minuscule neck break or the fever that had ravaged him earlier on in his treatment. It would take about a week of observation and then the promise of bed rest at home before Trunks could be released but overall Trunks was perfectly healthy.

Not for the first time, Vegeta silently thanked Dream Trunks, a version he'd known so briefly but had come to see that he represented more of the son in X-Ray right now than Vegeta first realised.

Laughing steadily having informed the other Z-Fighters of the sudden turn of events, the flame hair of the Saiyan Prince was easy to spot in the mostly empty cafeteria and the stout nurse quickly made for the odd parents of the unusual boy.

"Mr. and Mrs. Briefs, we require your assistance. Your son…" the words had no sooner left the nurse's lips before Vegeta was standing outside the room his son had been placed in momentarily.

With relief he noted that his son was still awake and breathing. He was thrashing violently on the bed, yelling ripped half-screams with his splintered throat as the doctors tried to get a hold on him so that one could inject a needle into his hand.

In a moment, Vegeta was inside the door. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Vegeta snarled, his protective Saiyan instincts kicking in fully. He'd come so damn close to losing his son in the past year and he wasn't about to let a team of doctors frighten the kid any further. He might not have the emotional capacity of something much more than a shrew, but even Vegeta knew that, after all Trunks had been through, terrifying the boy wasn't the way to get him to respond.

The doctors quickly sprang back. "Mr. Briefs, let me explain..." a braver doctor crept forward, trying to reason, but Vegeta silenced him with a look that clearly said _say another word and I will snap your neck._

"Get out. Now!" Vegeta spat and, with that, the medical team fled the room. Vegeta walked over to his son's bed and looked at him.

A nasal cannula rested loosely beneath his nose, supplying him with pure oxygen as a precaution. An IV drip hung on a small frame beside the bed but the administrative tube flopped downwards and coiled itself on the floor, evidence of Trunks' refusal to have it put in.

Raising an eyebrow, Vegeta wordlessly asked for an explanation. Trunks huffed a moment but eventually opened up.

"They said…They said it...it would put me to sleep for a little while. But I don't want to sleep...I'm so sick of the dark...Of being trapped in my own head. I had…the weirdest dreams…" Trunks' voice trailed off and his face pinched together.

"I know." Was all Vegeta could reply with. Hell, he'd seen most of it himself. He had a pretty good idea of what Trunks had seen.

"C'mon, Dad. There's no way you could know," Trunks shook his head.

"Suicide, Trunks?" Vegeta asked. He watched as Trunks' tanned complexion, inherited from the Saiyan Prince, dropped a few shades.

"It's…not like that…" he stammered, desperately, swallowing a few times to moisten his raw throat.

Tapping his son's cheek lightly, Vegeta shook his head, sadly. "I saw it all, my son. When you are feeling stronger, we will talk about it, make no mistake."

"Dad, please," Trunks snorted, trying to downplay his severe depression prior to falling ill. "You? Talking? About feelings and cra-crud?" he said incredulously, trying to cover for his swear word.

Vegeta smirked. "You can tell your mother if you'd prefer," he suggested.

Once more losing the shades of colour he'd just earned back, the answer was a resounding "No!"

"Go back to sleep, son," Vegeta said softly, no hint of mockery in his tone whatsoever. Feeling his eyes water beneath closed lids as Bulma (always on Vegeta's wavelength) instructed the medical team in to reinsert the IV, Trunks hardly felt the sting of the needle between his own tough Saiyan skin and his father's hand gripping his own.

"Love you, Dad," Trunks snuffled as the sedative began to take effect.

And just before the drug took full effect, he saw a shadowy silhouette lean forward and heard him reply...

"I love you too, son."

* * *

Eight months later, the Briefs family were celebrating quietly in the back garden of the Capsule Corp. compound for Bra's sixth birthday. Bulma was laying out a spread of food for her Saiyan husband and half-Saiyan children and Trunks, Bra and Vegeta were engaging in a rough sport that involved throwing and catching the small daughter in mid-air.

Swooping down and laughing madly, Bra landed unsteadily beside her mother, her flying ability not quite fully honed yet. As Bulma began entertaining her youngest child, Vegeta and Trunks began to engage in a friendly sparring match.

Vegeta was truly proud of his son. He'd caught up quickly with the training he'd missed and was becoming stronger and more powerful than Vegeta ever envisioned he could. He was a true Saiyan warrior, worthy of the title 'Prince of All Saiyans'. Their talk had gone well and Trunks found himself no longer plagued with nightmares or thoughts of taking his own life during the day. He was so much happier than he'd been in a long time.

As Bulma called her boys down for lunch, Vegeta paused for a moment, gazing up at the clear blue sky. He gave a genuine smile and a tentative, appreciative nod of thanks before joining his family.

Dream Trunks caught it.

He smiled back.

* * *

_**FINAL A/N:** WOOOOO! So there we go! Ahaha! It's finally over! Yes, I know it was very rushed, I know that the actual medical fact in this chapter is limited at best and I know it's cheesy and corny and I missed out the heart-to-heart between ol' 'Geta and Trunks but, in all honesty, I was sick of all the crap I was dumping on them, weren't you ;)? _

_So, this fic has gone in a direction I never imagined it would. __But, thanks to you amazing, awesome readers, it's been on the up and up and is now a work that I can be proud of :). Honestly, guys, everyone who reviewed, added me to their Favourite Author's and this story to their Favourite Stories, put me on Author Alert, Story Alert, etc...I am so grateful! I cannot thank you all enough; I totally mean it when I say you are the best bunch of people in the whole of fanfiction :D. I absolutely love each and every one of you and I hope I managed to get round to everyone and reply saying just how much your support means to me :)._

_As for next fanfic and things, I know it says (for anyone who has seen it) that on my profile I will be posting my story, **Lost**, after this one but that's not gonna happen for awhile. It needs a hell of a lot of editing (I can't even tell you how much) and I feel kinda like I've lost my DBZ spark and I think it shows in a few places in this fic, so as of now (and also because of my exams and things) I am indefinitely on Hiatus. _

_Anyway, once again, thank you so much to everyone who stuck by me with this fic as I went through some rough times and toughed it out when I lost my nerve. I seriously cannot put it into words how much that means to me. I have met loads of awesome new people here and made some great new friends and your support means the world to me :D. Love all you guys and I hope you enjoyed it! ^_^_

_Love Racy  
-x-_


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